Watch: Ukraine Takes Out Russian T-80BV In Luhansk – Video footage shared on social media a few months back shows Ukrainian forces taking out a Russian T-80BV tank somewhere in Luhansk Oblast.
The short clip, which is accompanied by music as so many of these videos tend to be, shows a Russian tank at the side of a snow-covered road.
Moments later, the tank is hit by artillery fire, explodes, and creates a burst of black smoke.
Eventually, the tank erupts into flames, possibly indicating that onboard ammunition caught fire – although various components inside of the vehicle could have caught on fire just as easily.
Some Twitter users noted that the turret on the vehicle appeared to be very low, virtually pointing toward the ground.
It could suggest that the tank is broken and abandoned.
The clip was initially shared by the Ukrainian military and later reposted to Twitter by the popular war tracking account, Ukraine Weapons Tracker.
“The Ukrainian 92nd Mechanized Brigade destroyed a Russian T-80BV tank in #Luhansk Oblast,” the post reads.
The video clip appears to have been recorded by an unmanned aerial vehicle.
Russia Refitting T-72 Tanks to Make Up For Shortfall in Ukraine
As Russian tanks continue to be destroyed by Ukrainian forces, and as Ukraine prepares to receive significant quantities of NATO tanks from Europe and the United States, Moscow is reportedly ordering the upgrading and repair of hundreds of old T-72 tanks.
The T-72 family of Soviet main battle tanks first went into production in 1969.
Though there have been many variations of the tank over the decades, some of the tanks being repaired and upgraded are already several decades old.
It means that, even with upgraded weapons, many of these tanks will likely be vulnerable to more modern weapons systems thanks to their outdated armor.
The creation of the T-72B3 Obr. 2022 is the result of Moscow’s efforts to repurpose older tanks.
It is a modernized version of these older military vehicles, but one that comes with a major shortfall. Even with this updated model, the tank still features an ammunition storage design that makes the tank vulnerable to enemy strikes.
With the tank’s ammunition stored underneath the turret, one well-aimed strike can detonate all the ammunition on board and create an explosion that ultimately kills everybody on board and completely destroys the tank.
It is a design flaw that has long been known by NATO forces and one that has been exploited repeatedly by the Ukrainians.
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian 92nd Mechanized Brigade destroyed a Russian T-80BV tank in #Luhansk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/msv3ryGiU7
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) February 7, 2023
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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.
