Video footage shared across social media this week highlighted how Ukraine was using its upgraded T-72 main battle tanks (MBTs) to destroy Russian positions.
At least two MBTs could be seen in the nearly one-minute-long clip, which appeared to have been taken from a smartphone’s camera while the operator was sitting in the open cupola.
The Ukrainian tank fired repeatedly at a Russian target – however, the footage was shared on YouTube without sound.
It is also not entirely clear where or exactly when the footage was taken, but it is believed to have been in the Eastern Donbas region, possibly outside of Bakhmut – the scene of some of the most intense fighting of the war in Ukraine.
The video clip, which has not been verified, was posted by the UK-based Sun newspaper on Tuesday, and it was been seen some 70,000 times.
Even as Western allies have promised to provide Ukraine with more modern MBTs, including the British-made Challenger 2 and German-produced Leopard 2, Kyiv’s forces continue to rely on vast numbers of the Soviet-era T-72 MBT that were in its arsenal before the war began.
Ukraine has also captured dozens – perhaps even hundreds – of the tanks from fleeing Russian troops.
Fighting Near Bakhmut
Both sides are continuing to throw massive numbers of troops into the fighting in Bakhmut, which has been increasingly described as a 21st-century version of the Battle of Stalingrad.
As of this week, Ukraine has remained in partial control of the city – which serves as the administrative center of Bakhmut Raion in the Donetsk Oblast.
Prior to the war, the population was in excess of 71,000, but the city has been besieged by Russian forces, and it has largely been destroyed. Most of its population has fled.
Military analysts have suggested the efforts to hold the city have become more political than practical, and Ukraine’s forces outside the city have continued to strike at Russian positions – such as in the recent video.
Russia has redoubled its efforts to take control of the city.
“What we see is that Russia is throwing more troops, more forces and what Russia lacks in quality they try to make up in quantity,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Stockholm on the sidelines of an EU defense ministers meeting.
“We cannot rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days,” the head of the US-led military alliance noted, adding, “this does not necessarily reflect any turning point of the war.”
In fact, even if Russia takes control of the city it will capture ruins – costing thousands of lives.
Meanwhile, Ukraine will continue to use its tanks – and notably, those Western tanks that will begin to arrive – to strike back even harder against the Russians.
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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.
