Video: See Russian T-80BV Destroyed in Luhansk Oblast – A video shared on social media on Tuesday morning showed the destruction of a Russian T-80BV main battle tank (MBT) that came under Ukrainian fire, reportedly in the vicinity of Chervonopopivka, in the Luhansk Oblast – the easternmost territory of Ukraine and scene of heavy fighting.
What We Know
In the 23-second-long video, the MBT can be seen burning on the side of a dirt road in rugged terrain.
It is unclear from the footage if any of the crew had survived the assault, but the tank appeared abandoned and left as a smoldering wreck.
The clip was shared by the Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) social media account, and since being posted early Tuesday has already been seen some 120,000 times.
There has been intense fighting around Chervonopopivka, which had been captured by Russian forces nearly a year ago in the opening stages of the Kremlin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The village has since changed hands multiple times.
It was liberated by Ukrainian forces in October of last year, only to be recaptured by Russian forces on December 11. It was then subsequently recaptured by Kyiv’s forces.
Prior to the invasion, Chervonopopivka had a population of just over 1,000 but it is currently unknown how many continue to reside in the community as many of the buildings have been destroyed in the ongoing fighting.
The Luhansk Oblast is one of the four Ukrainian provinces illegally annexed by Moscow last year, and it has been the site of fighting since parts of the territory came under the control of Russian-backed separatists in 2014 – who declared it the Luhansk People’s Republic.
Nearly the entirety of the oblast has been under Russian occupation since last year, while Ukraine currently controls about seven percent of the region. Moscow currently restricts the movements of residents without Russian passports in the Luhansk Oblast.
Russia Offensive Blunted
It was about a month ago that Russia began its first offensive in months in the Luhansk Oblast, but Ukraine has successfully repelled attacks in the region.
It was also earlier this month that the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that it blunted 85 Russian attacks on five fronts.
Multiple media outlets have reported that the Kremlin’s assaults employing “Human Wave Attacks” have largely made no progress. This has been especially true in the ongoing Battle of Bakhmut in the neighboring Donetsk Oblast, which has been going on for more than seven months.
The intensity of the fighting across the entirety of the Donbas region has been compared to the combat of the First and Second World Wars, where waves of soldiers often engaged in seemingly futile assaults.
The fighting is reminiscent of that of Verdun, the Marne, Passchendaele, and the Somme – and largely with the same results. Little ground has been taken and soldiers on both sides are forced to defend mud-soaked trenches while attackers cross a pockmarked field of destruction.
The destroyed Russian T-80BV is just one of the countless tanks to be destroyed in recent weeks, and it won’t be the last.
#Ukraine: A Russian T-80BV tank was destroyed by Ukrainian fire in the vicinity of Chervonopopivka, #Luhansk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/4XDXXKU2Nz
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 7, 2023
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Author Experience and Expertise:
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
Image: Stock Screenshot footage of Ukraine’s attack on Russian tanks.
Whodunnit
March 9, 2023 at 8:46 am
I love the smell of burning Russian armour in the morning.