Russia’s Tank Army in Eastern Ukraine Is Attacking 1 or 2 Vehicles at a Time. ‘They Don’t Live Long.’

5 comments

1. Isn’t this weird? I mean tanks and armored vehicles are much bigger targets then guys on motorcycles and don’t move as fast. Even if you send only one or 2 at a time you still exposed a valuable asset to a great risk and ,unlike dudes on motorcycles , you run out of armored vehicles pretty quickly

2. No doubt Ukrainian infantry have brought up many Javelins/NLAWS to the front…

3. One or two vehicles isn’t enough for a reconnaissance to determine the strength of the defense. This tactic doesn’t make any sense, unless they are just trying to determine whether the area is defended. One guy with an antitank weapon can knock out both vehicles, not to mention a couple of drones.

4. Thank you, Ukraine, for taking the trash out and keeping Europe safe.

5. There was a [RUSI report](https://ik.imagekit.io/po8th4g4eqj/prod/Stormbreak-Special-Report-web-final_0.pdf) by Watling detailing two tactical vignettes during the 2023 Ukrainian Counteroffensive where it demonstrated that one or two tanks in the right spot could change the tide of the battle. At Novodarivka a company column of Ukrainian MaxxPro led by two T-64 tanks were advancing through a lane cleared by line charge launcher was intercepted and the column’s vehicle was systematically blown up by a pair of Russian tanks that appeared. This pair of tanks were eventually taken out eventually but the company lost most of its vehicles. Another column was making a similar advance before another pair of Russian tanks appeared and the column veered off into the surrounding minefield.

   Conversely, in another action at Rivnopil, a Ukrainian TDF brigade borrowed a pair of tanks from another mech brigade and conducted a masterful attack that exploited the terrain

   >The tanks, moving in and out of cover, engaged the Russian firing positions to draw the attention of and suppress the defenders. Shortly thereafter, artillery strikes on the fighting positions were combined with the delivery of smoke in front of the tanks. The tanks worked forwards, giving the impression that smoke was being used to cover the advance of infantry.

   >While the tanks fixed the attention of the defence, a platoon multiple of Ukrainian assault troops moved along the treeline to the east of the Russian fighting positions. From there, it began to lay down suppressing fire and advance in pairs. The action drew the attention of the defence, which now recognised a clear tactical play, with a fixing action to its front, and a major assault about to be launched against its flank. The Russian unit began to reposition to prepare for this attack and attempted to win the firefight to the east. Reinforcing the perception that it was about to be assaulted, the Ukrainian artillery then delivered a heavy salvo against the positions, signposting an imminent assault. The assault when it came did not materialise as the Russian defenders had envisaged. Instead, a platoon of assault troops, having infiltrated forwards along the western flank of the position then advanced rapidly, reaching the defensive positions that had been thinned out in anticipation of the assault to the east. Disorientated and fearing encirclement, the Russian troops began to withdraw towards Rivnopil, abandoning their communications equipment, and leaving five troops behind who were taken prisoner.

   One or two tanks isn’t *just* one or two tanks. In a lot of interviews and description of battles in this war, when a tank appear, for the infantry, it becomes *the* number one threat. If anything, it’s a vehicle with a lot of power and batteries for its thermal sights. Thermals are crazy.

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