Ukrainian soldiers recover Russian electronic warfare tank in minefield close to enemy
Ukrainian soldiers have managed to recover an unusual Russian tank following a three-day operation in the middle of a minefield - apparently just 400m away from the enemy.
The Russian T-72B3M had had a field conversion carried out so it could counter Ukrainian drones by jamming their signal.
The apparatus added to the top of the tank looked crude, but had apparently been effective, disabling four Ukrainian drones before the tank itself became immobilised.
Drone footage released by the Ukrainian Azov Brigade shows two soldiers from the unit, identified only as Tenor and Baydar, boarding the abandoned tank, revving its engine and steering it towards Ukrainian-held territory.
Failed assault
The recovery operation took place a few days after a failed Russian armoured assault near the village of Terny in the Donetsk region.
Images taken by the nearby 95th Air Assault Brigade showed the Russian armoured column coming under heavy fire, with at least 11 vehicles reportedly disabled or destroyed in the ambush.
The electronic wafare tank, identified as a late-model T-72B3M which was subsequently nicknamed the 'Tsar', sustained damage during the fighting, but was eventually brought back to Ukrainian lines.
A YouTube video released by the Azov Brigade showed Tenor and Baydar explaining how they carried out the operation to snag the tank.
And a post by Astraia Intel on X said the mission took place just 400m away from Russian forces.
Night-time recce
The company commander and the battalion commander told Tenor and Baydar that they were going on a mission to bring back the T-72B3M,
In addition to the weirdly added electronic warfare kit, which was used to provide anti-drone cover for the Russian mechanised unit, it was also equipped with night vision gear – making it a very useful vehicle to recover.
"If it needs to be done, let's go," said Baydar. The mission required numerous personnel to do some careful planning, but just the two soldiers to actually carry out the operation.
Sappers carried out an initial recce to determine exactly how the tank had been knocked out. This had to be done from the ground as the aerial perspective from a drone did not provide enough information.
They found one of the tank's tracks had become tangled in wire, causing it to crash into a BMP infantry fighting vehicle.
The crew decided to try to escape, which Tenor said had been a mistake as they all ended up being killed.
On the second night of the operation, the Ukrainian soldiers managed to enter the tank and untangle the wire, all the while being careful not to detonate a TM-62 mine that was right under the vehicle.
The Russian crew had left the electrics on, draining the batteries, which meant Tenor and Baydar could not get it to start.
They made the decision to come back the following night with batteries and compressed air tanks so they could get the T-72B3M to run.
The recovery
Driving through the village the tank encountered potholes that were big enough to stop a tank in its tracks. Baydar drove into a deep crater and the impact threw him against the hatch, knocking him out momentarily.
Half-conscious and with a bloody nose, Baydar had to manoeuvre the tank out of the hole.
"If the engine wasn't so powerful, we wouldn't have got out," explained Tenor.
The soldiers were later informed that 35 shells had hit the village as they were driving through it.
Having reached safety, the pair were shocked by the equipment that had been left inside the tank, including spare periscopes and night vision goggles.
Tenor chalked up the success of the mission to his training, saying it was like he was running on autopilot.
"It's not the first time I've encountered such a situation, where you realise that ahead of you there's a challenge, some danger and everything else, but you understand that you need to do it, it's necessary and you just do it," he explained.
The captured T-72 will be fully repaired and integrated into the Azov Brigade's tank battalion, where it will serve as a potent weapon against its former owners.
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