Rare M80A IFV Seen Destroyed In Online Photograph: A photograph shared on social media this week shows a destroyed Ukrainian M80A infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) abandoned somewhere in Kherson Oblast.
The image, which shows the vehicle de-tracked and missing much of its armor, is one of very few in existence.
#Ukraine: A previously unseen loss of a Ukrainian M80A infantry fighting vehicle – presumably in #Kherson Oblast.
35 of these IFVs were donated by Slovenia back in Summer with only a couple confirmed to be lost so far. pic.twitter.com/jDZfGk246T
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 24, 2023
The image was shared by the popular war-tracking Twitter account Ukraine Weapons Tracker.
What We Know
In the photograph, the vehicle appears to have been abandoned in the mud in a rural field – and while the account suggests it was destroyed somewhere in Kherson Oblast, there was no additional information provided to prove where the abandoned vehicle was seen, or what weapons were used to destroy it.
“A previously unseen loss of a Ukrainian M80A infantry fighting vehicle – presumably in #Kherson Oblast,” the account writes, adding that 35 of the infantry fighting vehicles were donated to Ukraine by Slovenia last summer. The account also noted that only a handful of the vehicles have been confirmed destroyed so far.
Video footage and photographs of M80A infantry fighting vehicles being destroyed on the battlefield were also shared on Twitter in March and January.
In March, a Ukrainian BMP-2 and M80A IFV were left destroyed after Russian Wagner forces targeted the vehicles near Zaliznyanske in Donetsk Oblast.
In January, photographs showed how Russian forces near Bakhmut severely damaged another M90A infantry fighting vehicles. The photographs showed the vehicle abandoned with hatches open and multiple holes in its armor.
More on the M80A
The M80A infantry fighting vehicle was manufactured during the 1980s and until the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. It was primarily used during the Yugoslav Wars and produced in limited numbers, with roughly 1,000 vehicles made before Yugoslavia’s dissolution.
#Ukraine: A Ukrainian BMP-2 and what appears to be a M80A infantry fighting vehicle were destroyed by the Russian Wagner PMC near Zaliznyanske, #Donetsk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/gy4daRYuJm
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 28, 2023
The M80A IFV is equipped with some powerful armaments, including the 9M14 Malyutka (AT-3 Sagger) ATGM, an ATGM launcher, two missiles, and a 20mm M-55 (HS 804) cannon with 400 rounds. It can travel up to 65 km/h on land and 8 km/h in water.
In June, 2022, Slovenia committed to send 35 of the vehicles to Ukraine.
The United States promised to send a voucher in return for the transfer of the IFVs to Ukraine, allowing Slovenia to purchase weapons that exceed the cost of the older weapons.
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
