Ukraine announced the destruction of the Russian ‘terminator’ combat vehicle

Ukraine announced the destruction of the Russian ‘terminator’ combat vehicle. (Source: Ukrainian Navy)

On February 9, Serhii Haidai, head of the Ukrainian civil military administration in the Lugansk region, said in a Telegram post that the Ukrainian army had just destroyed the BMPT-72 tank support combat vehicle “the destroyer”. in a skirmish near Kreminna, EurAsian Times news.

On the same day, the 140th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the Ukrainian Navy also posted a video taken from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) showing a BMPT-72 being shot down.

In the video, a BMPT-72 can be seen seemingly abandoned in the middle of the road next to a forest. The video also shows Ukrainian soldiers attacking the vehicle at least twice before it explodes.

The Russian BMPT-72 fought in the Kreminna before being destroyed.

The first destruction of BMPT-72 after nearly a year of conflict took place in the context of the Ukrainian army preparing to launch a spring counterattack in Donbass (Eastern Ukraine). The main units of Ukraine in the near future will be equipped with main battle tanks supported by the West.

Destroying the BMPT-72 can help raise the morale of the Ukrainian army, because this vehicle has always played a leading role in the recent Russian attacks in Lugansk.

Last month, the Russian Defense Ministry released a video showing a Russian tank destroying a Ukrainian tank with fire support from the BMPT-72. The video shows the Russian tank firing first, then the BMPT firing the 30mm cannon to clear the Ukrainian resistance positions located in the forest.

Some such cases have also been recorded and published by Russian media in recent times, which shows that the role of the BMPT-72 on the battlefield is very large.

According to military magazine Jane’s, the Russian military began deploying the BMPT-72 to Lugansk in May 2022, before it was destroyed it was still considered an invincible weapon against Ukrainian infantry.

Military experts of the EurAsian Times said that the BMPT-72 effectively operated in the Ukrainian battlefield for a long time because of its special design, it almost overcomes the inherent disadvantages on the vehicle lines. main battle tank on a modern battlefield filled with light anti-tank weapons.

Tank support combat vehicle of the Russian army in the war in Ukraine. (Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense)

The BMPT-72 is thicker armored than the tank, it was created to support the tank in combat, by suppressing the enemy’s infantry and armored vehicles in combat. The effectiveness of BMPT-72 in showing only in flat terrain but also in urban areas.

Tank support combat vehicles such as the BMPT-72, which are developed based on the T-72 main battle tank and improved on the first generation BMPT.

The BMPT-72 weighs 44 tons, is armed with two 30mm 2A42 automatic cannons that can load 850 rounds, a 7.62mm PKTM Kalashnikov machine gun (2,100 rounds) and an Ataka-anti-tank missile system. T laser guidance.

The Ataka-T consists of an anti-tank guided missile with a tandem warhead (9M120-1) and an anti-tank missile with a multi-explosive warhead (9M120-1F). Compared to the first version of Terminator, the new vehicle only needs a crew of 3.

Tank support combat vehicles are now equipped with a variety of features such as attack and defense, movement during combat with the enemy, and support for outposts. Terminator-2 will help increase the combat effectiveness of tank units by 15 to 25%, depending on the type of combat.