SOFREP has sources in Ukraine sending us information on conditions on the ground in Kyiv and Kharkiv.  Some of it is graphic. The video below was taken outside the Kharkiv suburbs where a Russian reconnaissance unit was occupying a crossroads when it was attacked by Ukrainian forces, took casualties, and was forced to withdraw.

The video shows several interesting things that are worth mentioning.  The video opens with a view of a box of IRPRUS army field rations that contains a full week of rations and appears to be a newly opened box.  This unit may not have been in the field for very long.  The contents of their APC have been removed from the vehicle and tossed on the ground.  The fact that the BMP2 isn’t burning and still has stores of ammo, water, and food stacked on top suggests it was abandoned by its crew.  The BMPs had troop compartment rear doors that held extra fuel(Yeah, we know), during the Chechen war they were frequently hit from behind incinerating everyone inside and the Russians replaced the fuel doors with something that could give the crew more protection.  This BMP2 then is pretty old in terms of being in service.  The Russians have a new T-15 Armata IFVbut it has yet to make an appearance in Ukraine so far.

 

This vehicle is probably a Kamaz Typhoon K armor-protected vehicle.  It can be armed with medium-to-heavy machine guns, including a 7.62mm medium machine gun (MMG) or a 12.7mm / 14.5mm heavy machine gun (HMG). If you look closely, it appears a large caliber anti-tank round or rocket punched right through the front windshield.

Their unit was approximately platoon-sized with the Typhoon serving as the commander’s vehicle along with two APCs of the BMP2 type and two open trucks that probably hauled fuel, water and extra troops.