Ukrainian soldiers discovered a damaged Russian T72-B3 tank in a forest in eastern Ukraine and claimed it as a “trophy”, as these images show.
In the footage, a soldier can be heard saying (in Ukrainian): “Time for videos!”
A second soldier then says: “Take everything you need, guys!”
He adds: “Come here and move the barrel! Is it stuck? Does anybody know if it is mined? No?”
The first soldier then says: “What happened?”
The second soldier then muses over a spanner he has found, saying he spent 1,500 Ukrainian hryvnia ($40) on one just like it. He says: “Wow, this wrench is so cool, I bought one like this for 1,500 Ukrainian hryvnia!
The first soldier then says: “Take everything carefully, f**k!”
While the second soldier asks again: “Is it mined?”
The first soldier then answers, saying: “I don`t know, It’s my first time here!”
But it appears that it was not mined, with the Ukrainian Ground Forces releasing the images on Friday, August 12, and saying that they were filmed near Izyum and that the tank was a T-72B3.
The family of T72 of Russian main battle tanks entered production in 1969. Since that time, improvements and modifications have been added. The T72-B3 tanks have explosive reactive armor and improved weaponry.
Russia’s more modern third-generation tanks, T90 and Armata, have also seen combat during the current conflict in Ukraine.
Zenger News contacted the head of the public relations service of the Ground Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Major Fityo Volodymyr, who confirmed that the footage was authentic and that the information was accurate.
Zenger News also contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for a comment, but had not received a reply at the time of writing.
The images were also relayed by the Office of Strategic Communications (StratCom) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, saying that the tank was another “trophy.”
Izyum is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast of eastern Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Friday marks the 170th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and August 12, Russia had lost about 43,200 personnel, 1,849 tanks, 4,108 armored combat vehicles, 975 artillery units, 261 multiple launch rocket systems, 136 air defense systems, 233 warplanes, 193 helicopters, 778 drones, 185 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,021 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 90 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower, but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures. The Pentagon said this week that Russia had suffered between 70,000 and 80,000 casualties – deaths and injuries – since the beginning of its invasion.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky has urged officials to stop talking to the media about Kyiv’s military strategy, saying that such remarks are “frankly irresponsible”.
Zelensky’s comments came after news outlets began citing anonymous officials as saying that Ukraine was behind the explosions that destroyed the Saky base in Russian-occupied Crimea, despite the Ukrainian government declining to confirm whether it was responsible for the blasts.
President Zelensky has vowed to liberate Crimea and said: “This Russian war against Ukraine and against the entire free Europe began with Crimea and must end with Crimea – with its liberation.”
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is now unlikely to succeed in occupying Ukraine, saying that Russia’s invasion had “faltered” and was “starting to fail”.
Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksiy Hromov has said that Russia has doubled its air strikes on Ukrainian civilians and on military positions compared to last week.
The United Nations has urged for there to be a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest – as Russia and Ukraine continue to accuse each other of shelling the facility.
A United States State Department spokesperson said on Thursday that the U.S. supports calls for there to be a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhia plant.
Belarus has said that night-time explosions at one of its military bases, located some 20 miles from the Ukrainian border, had been caused by a “technical incident”.
