Sunday, April 23, 2023

Video Shows Ukraine's Special Operations Forces 'Hunting' Russian T-90 Tank

BY BRENDAN COLE ON 4/22/23 AT 10:28 AM EDT


Ukrainian soldiers scavenge an abandoned Russian T-90A tank in Kyrylivka, in Kharkiv, on September 30, 2022. Ukraine's armed forces have released video of a T-90 tank being destroyed
YASUYOSHI CHIBA/GETTY IMAGES 


Ukraine's armed forces have released dramatic footage of what they claim to be the destruction of a Russian tank. "The hunt for Russian tanks continues," said the Telegram post next to the video, which is accompanied by dramatic music.

The press service of the SSO (Special Operations Forces) said operators in one of its units "placed TM62 anti-tank mines in one of the directions," it said. "The occupiers' T-90 was successfully blown up," the post added, according to a translation.

The clip flips between images of Ukrainian personnel, drone shots of the tank, and smoke emanating from the strike. The unverified video was not dated and no location was given, and Newsweek has emailed the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

In addition to a high attrition rate of its troops, Russia has suffered large losses of military vehicles since the start of its full-scale invasion 14 months ago. According to weapons tracker Oryx, Russian forces had lost 1905 tanks, as of Saturday.

Included in this figure were 60 versions of the T-90, including 18 of the T-90M, which is considered to be top-of-the-range with a high level of specifications. The latest video did not specify which kind of T-90 had been blown up.

A study last week from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. said that amid high losses of tanks and other armored vehicles, Russia does not have enough ball bearings to maintain a steady production of new vehicles.

Sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion have created shortages of higher-end foreign components, forcing Moscow to use lower-quality alternatives which will negatively impact its ability to deliver advanced weapons to the battlefield.

This means that Russia is likely to undertake "a slower-paced attritional campaign" that could also stretch its military and industrial base which have been hit by sanctions, the CSIS added.

However, Ukrainian troops told British newspaper The Times that they were running low on air defense ammunition at a time when Russian troops are sending in more helicopters and aircraft. The unnamed soldiers said they feared this could allow Russian forces to take control of the sky.

Pentagon documents leaked online this month revealed that the U.S. expects Ukraine to run out of its primary air defense missiles next month unless there is a swift delivery.

It comes as Russian forces reportedly used a new delivery of Iranian-made Shahed "kamikaze" drones to strike Ukraine for the third day in a row.

Between Tuesday and Thursday, Ukrainian forces shot down 33 out of the 38 drones Russia launched in the Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv oblasts.

https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-russia-tank-t-90-hunt-video-1796065 

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