Video Highlights Destruction of Russian T-72A in Loitering Munition Strike – A video shared on social media captured the destruction of a Russian T-72A main battle tank that had been disabled in the fighting outside of the town of Nevelske in the Donetsk Oblast.
The 48-second-long clip was recorded primarily by a first-person view (FPV) loitering munition as it approached the MBT.
At the same time, an unmanned aerial vehicle overhead filmed the aftermath, which included the final detonation of the ammunition stored onboard.
Two other MBTs were seen nearby surrounded by shell holes – suggesting a column of Russian armor may have come under an artillery strike a short time earlier.
Drone Warfare
According to Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons), which shared the video on Twitter on Thursday morning, the Russian forces were attempting to evacuate the tank when it came under attack.
It is common for both sides to employ drones to drop ordnance or use loitering munitions to ensure that these damaged vehicles can’t be returned to service. Soldiers of the Ukrainian 59th Motorized Brigade conducted the recent operation.
The unit was activated in December 2014 in the city of Haisyn in Vinnytsia Oblast and took command of three volunteer territorial defense battalions.
In August of the following year, on Ukraine’s Independence Day, the brigade received its flag and became fully operational.
It has been engaged in the fighting around the city of Bakhmut since August of last year, and this recent strike occurred near the settlement of Nevelske – located about 25 km (15.5 miles) northwest of the city of Donetsk.
The village of a few hundred people is now completely surrounded and has been without running water for years due to fighting during the war in the Donbas.
Destroyed Vehicles
The three destroyed MBTs are among the thousands that the Kremlin has likely lost in the 14-month-long war. As of February, The Wall Street Journal had cited data from Oryx, the independent team that has tracked equipment losses in the conflict.
It estimated that more than 1,700 Russian tanks were destroyed, damaged, or captured.
That would have accounted for more than half of the Kremlin’s total tank force in Ukraine.
Even after more than a year of fighting, the Russian military continues to struggle with how to best employ its main battle tanks (MBTs) in combat.
In the early stages of the fighting, Russian tank crews often charged ahead with little to no support, and the MBTs quickly came under fire from man-portable weapons.
Other times, the Kremlin’s armored columns would cross into minefields.
The tactics have not improved.
Last year, drones and loitering munitions also proved to be especially deadly to tanks and other armored vehicles.
#Ukraine: Near Nevelske, #Donetsk Oblast the Ukrainian 59th Motorized Brigade destroyed with an FPV loitering munition a damaged T-72A tank that Russian troops were attempting to evacuate.
The ammunition on board eventually detonated, completely destroying the tank. pic.twitter.com/aAGaW4IKFB
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 26, 2023
These aerial platforms can hover overhead, providing artillery crews with the GPS coordinates of the vehicles – while also delivering ordnance directly to the target.
In this recent video, the loitering munition slowly but almost surgically approached the tank, giving the crew almost no chance to react.
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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.
