A video circulating on social media reportedly shows Ukrainian servicemen breaking into a captured Russian tank fitted with drone protection. Such “barn tanks,” also called “turtles,” or even “blyat-mobiles” after the common vulgarity used in Russian as a filler word (much like the English f-word).
At least two Russian soldiers inside are seen taken prisoner.
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Kyiv Post could not independently verify the time and place of the footage.
The released video shows Ukrainian soldiers capturing the tank, raising a Ukrainian flag on it, and allegedly driving toward Ukrainian positions with the captured Russian soldiers.
Previous reports indicate that this special operation to seize the Russian tank was carried out by fighters of the 22nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
Yury Mysiahin, a Verkhovna Rada lawmaker from the “Servant of the People” party, released a photo on Telegram showing Ukrainian military personnel standing beside the captured Russian tank.
Meanwhile, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported the destruction of 1,006 Russian tanks since the start of the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion. The largest number of tanks were eliminated during fierce battles in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.
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“Using heavy armored vehicles, the aggressor often tried to break through the positions of the Ukrainian defenders and provide cover for the assault groups of the occupiers,” the report read.
According to the SBU, the Russians also deployed tank formations to attack fortified areas of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The SBU clarified that the destruction of Russian tanks occurred during combat operations in collaboration with units of the Armed Forces. A maximum arsenal of armor-piercing weapons and unmanned systems was used against the tanks.
“A large number of Russian armored vehicles were hit at the initial stages of the offensive before they could storm Ukrainian positions,” the report added. Some tanks were destroyed along with their crews.
Since early April, Russian forces have increased their use of “barn tanks” – covered in metal armored boxes to protect them from drone strikes. A variety of new designs have started appearing on the front lines.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate (HUR), told Kyiv Post that the systematic use of these tanks, also known as turtles, has been observed during the latest Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region and near Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region, where intense fighting continues.
These modified tanks began to appear as Ukraine expanded its use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones. Yusov said that Ukraine’s first-person view (FPV) drones have been particularly effective at destroying enemy personnel and equipment.
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