Ukraine cracks the code on Russia's seemingly invincible 'turtle tanks'
Russian turtle tanks have started appearing on the front in recent weeks. For a long time, they were impossible to destroy—until now, when the Ukrainians finally found a way to deal with these tough opponents.
A new Russian vehicle appeared in Ukraine relatively recently, in April 2024. As they are known, the turtle tanks quickly became the subject of jokes and ridicule towards the Russian army. However, the colossal silhouette from mounting steel plates on the T-62, T-72, or T-80 tanks was a solution that only seemed inconspicuous.
In practice, this Russian project was not a crazy adaptation – commented Rob Lee from the American Foreign Policy Research Institute. The expert noted that although people ridicule the design, it is not nonsensical. It shows that Russians are adapting to specific battlefield conditions.
Confirmation of Rob Lee's words could be found on the front. For several weeks, Ukrainians did not publish evidence confirming the destruction of any of the new turtle tanks. This seemingly mad modification of vehicles was an effective method of coping in battles. However, eventually, a way was found to defeat the Russian designs.
Ukrainians now know how to fight the turtle tanks
The Forbes portal, highlighting the first destructions of turtle tanks, emphasizes that earlier, these machines could move "toward Ukrainian positions with relative impunity". On their way to the enemy, among other things, they removed mines, as evidenced by the recently published online material showing a tank of this type with a mine-clearing device. In other cases, turtle armour was equipped with electronic warfare systems to disrupt the operation of radios in the vicinity, including drones.
As long as the Ukrainians used only drones to combat the armoured turtles, Russian vehicles remained indestructible and "a serious threat to Ukrainian operations", – writes Forbes.
However, uncrewed aerial vehicles were a temporary tool, and the defenders' army used them to cover the shortages in artillery ammunition supplies. When, among other things, American ammunition started arriving at the front, the situation for the Russian turtle tanks became much worse.
Small drones had been ineffective until now in penetrating the thick layer of additional armour mounted on the armoured turtles. However, smaller missiles and shells, which can penetrate the armour and cause a fire inside the tank, are capable of doing so. Additionally, the plates welded onto the tank are supposed to make evacuation difficult for the Russians in case of danger.
