At the beginning of April, the landing units of the criminal army of the Russian Federation attacked the positions of the 12th "Azov" brigade in the Kreminna area of the Luhansk region. Still, due to mines and drone attacks, they began to flee and dropped equipment on the battlefield, which was later "trophied" by the Ukrainian military.
Points of attention
- The Ukrainian military conducted a long operation and captured a Russian T-72B3M tank in the Kreminnaya region of Luhansk region.
- The trophy tank was nicknamed "Tsar-tank" or "Tsar-EW" for its effective radio jamming system, which protected it against drones.
- Ukrainian fighters from the 12th "Azov" brigade successfully overtook the tank to its positions and secured its use.
- The analyst draws attention to the rapid decrease in the number of T-72 tanks in Russian warehouses and problems with producing new equipment.
- In connection with the aid delays from the US, Ukraine is adapting its military strategies and the production of drones to fight against the occupiers.
What is known about AFU's operation to acquire trophy equipment from the Russian army
It is noted that the three-day operation to seize the T-72B3M tank of the occupation army of the Russian Federation was carried out by the Ukrainian military near Terni, west of Kreminna.
While fleeing, the Russian invaders dropped an almost intact T-72B3M tank.
Journalists of the publication note that this tank of the occupying army of the Russian Federation is one of the largest and probably the most effective radio jamming devices for protection against drones.
The soldiers of the 12th "Azov" brigade took three days to check, repair, and transport the 51-ton T-72.
In just two months, the enemy tank was repainted and assigned to the same tank battalion that "won" it. This is one of two trophy T-72B3Ms in service with the 12th Azov Brigade.
The Ukrainians nicknamed it "Tsar-tank" or "Tsar-EW." It had a huge electronic warfare system with additional batteries tied by cables on the sides.
Why the Russians piled so much jamming equipment on one tank is obvious. For six months starting in October, Russia-friendly Republican members of the US Congress blocked further US aid to Ukraine, depriving Ukrainian brigades of the artillery shells and anti-tank missiles needed to repel Russian attacks. So the Ukrainians launched a rapid program to create in hundreds of tiny workshops up to 100,000 explosive FPV drones as an intermediate in firepower. As the tiny Ukrainian drones filled the sky, the Russians tried to deploy defenses against the drones, including jamming devices that could block the drone's control signals, the publication explained.
The "Tsar-tank" probably represented the zenith of Russian combat jamming of unmanned aerial vehicles. By now, it is already known how the operation to take it occurred.
It is noted that on the night of April 3, scouts sneaked up to the tank in order to inspect it. They found him tangled in barbed wire on top of an unexploded anti-tank mine.
The tank was discharged because the crew fled from it without first turning off the fire control system. The very next night, the brigade fighters decided to steal the tank.
The sapper team and tank crew discreetly returned to the T-72 to clear any explosives, including a mine under the tank, and install new batteries.
On the night of April 5, it was time to take this Russian trophy tank to the Armed Forces positions.
Infantry and drone operators watched from a safe distance. Medics and an ambulance crew were on standby. The capture itself was carried out by two tankers with the callsigns "Baydar" and "Tenor".
They ran up to the T-72, ignoring the nearby Russian artillery barrage, and drove the tank without turning on the headlights.
"Tenor", who was driving, could not see anything, while "Baydar" stood in the tower, wearing night vision goggles and receiving instructions on the radio from the nearest troops.
Due to poor visibility, the tank at maximum speed flew into a funnel from a shell, as a result of which the driver received a concussion, but he was still able to take the equipment beyond the defence lines of the Armed Forces.
Ukrainian intelligence removed the silencers for a thorough inspection. The crews of the 12th "Azov" brigade removed some surface damage, in particular the broken glass on the first control optics, and handed over the T-72 to the tank battalion of the brigade.
What is known about problems with tanks in the Russian army
According to the military analyst, reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Petro Chernyk on Channel 24, the number of tanks in the warehouses of the aggressor country Russia is decreasing very rapidly.
He noted that Russia is no longer able to produce T-72 tanks.
There are not all technological chains, so you will have to follow the method of "cannibalism". That is, remove everything necessary from two or three working machines and mold one more or less as it should be, the analyst explains.
