In a bold and carefully executed operation, the 12th Azov Brigade, an elite unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, successfully captured a Russian T-72 tank replete with cutting-edge radio jammers designed to disrupt the increasingly pivotal drone warfare in the region. The mission spanned three perilous nights amid the treacherous and heavily contested terrain near Terny, located in the Donetsk Oblast of eastern Ukraine.
The audacious seizure comes as Ukrainian forces strive to counter the tactical edge conferred by Russia’s advanced jamming systems, which pose a significant threat to Ukraine’s extensive use of surveillance and attack drones. One Ukrainian operator remarked upon the importance of the capture, stating, “If the new jammers worked, the Ukrainian operators would need to develop countermeasures.”
The stakes of the operation escalated when the Russian T-72, adorned with clusters of jammers, was immobilized due to a collision precipitated by barbed wire entanglement, making it an alluring target for the Ukrainians. Despite the jammers, a Ukrainian drone managed to strike the tank, not severely damaging it but causing the crew to abandon their armored vehicle, only to be killed by subsequent drone attacks. This incident underscored the urgency for Ukrainian forces to understand why the tank’s jammers appeared ineffective.
The retrieval mission began with combat engineers scrutinizing the tank’s condition, only to discover that while it seemed operable, the turret’s fixed position obstructed the driver’s hatch. This complication necessitated the expertise of a trained tank crewman to rotate the turret and access the driver’s compartment.
On the second night, a tanker successfully untangled the wire and manually cranked the turret, but was met with dead batteries, leaving the tank lifeless. The final attempt on the third night involved hauling heavy batteries and tools under the cover of darkness, all while Russian artillery shelled the vicinity.
The tank sprang to life after the installation of the batteries, but the return journey to Ukrainian lines was fraught with danger. The driver, Ilya, recounted how he nearly lost the tank in a deep crater caused by a Russian glide bomb. In a remarkable show of resilience, he managed to extricate the T-72, despite repeated blackouts and injuries. “I make a backward lunge, stay in that position,” he said. “Again, on the brakes, I rev the engine again, but now I engage not the first gear, but the second, to make the fastest possible forward lunge and get out even more.”
The captured tank, now safely in Ukrainian hands, revealed the makeshift nature of the jammers—a conglomeration of individual jammers strapped atop a wooden pallet. The Ukrainian brigade’s efforts to understand and possibly exploit this technology have delivered a significant intelligence coup in the ongoing drone war.
The tank’s capture was captured on video, distributed by the 12th Azov Assault Brigade, showcasing the soldiers’ proximity to their prize and subsequent getaway. The Ukrainian military has declared that the tank “now works for the defense of Ukraine and helps the military destroy the invaders,” signifying a morale boost and a practical gain in the ongoing conflict.
Relevant articles:
– Ukraine’s elite Azov brigade managed to steal a special Russian tank. This is why, The Telegraph, 04/23/2024
– Video appears to show Ukrainian soldiers walking up and stealing a souped-up Russian tank, Yahoo News Canada, Tue, 23 Apr 2024 06:00:21 GMT
– Ukraine’s star brigade in dire state due to lack of weapons and its own mistakes, EL PAÍS USA, Mon, 22 Apr 2024 18:02:19 GMT
– First capture of Ukrainian Leopard 2A6 tank to upgrade Russian tanks, Army Recognition, Mon, 22 Apr 2024 10:28:29 GMT
– Ukrainians Staged A Daring Three-Night Raid To Steal A Russian Tank (forbes.com),Apr 15, 2024,03:57pm EDT