Lone Ukrainian T-64BV Tank Destroys Russian Armored Convoy Near Kyiv

Another military blunder for the Russian tank units has been discovered during their pullout from the Kyiv region. A drone captured footage of a lone Ukrainian T-64BV tank and its crew ambushing a Russian armored column leaving multiple military vehicles destroyed.

The Ukrainian tank is seen positioned on the side of the road, hidden behind what seemed to be two houses, leaving a space to fire at the Russians and taking advantage of a clever vantage point. It position suggests it was tasked with covering the intersection at left and probably was supported by unseen ground forces a well.

The attack was reported to be conducted during the Russian retreat to Belarus, where they are expected to re-supply and return to fighting in Donbas. The recorded footage was reported to be in the town of Nova Basan, some 60 miles from the capital city. Further geolocation efforts reveal that the exact location of the fight was at HO7 highway, which connects Kyiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv. It is believed that the Russian convoy in question is from the Dmytro Korchynsky Brotherhood Battalion, otherwise known as the Bratstvo Battalion.

While it was not seen how many vehicles in total were in convoy, the largest number of vehicles shown in the footage in one frame was eight. However, it was reported that the convoy was comprised of 12 vehicles. It is believed that the captured footage was an attack on the tail-end of a longer convoy either headed to Belarus or the frontlines in Eastern Ukraine.

In what seems to be a numbers mismatch, the Ukrainian T-64BV open-fired on the vehicle found in the middle of the column, stopping those behind it in a panic with soldiers running for cover.

The first shot did not hit and blew up a hillside behind the Russian armored vehicle. This would have been a good time to track where the shot came from, as the Ukrainian tank was not far off the road. The round was later determined to be a high explosive round, the round of choice to destroy light armored vehicles. However, the Russians, who seemed to be panicking, fired their 30mm automatic cannon at random directions, trying to guess where the Ukrainian T-64BV was. These were later determined by analysts online to be heavy machinegun tracer rounds. It is also possible they were trying to engage unseen Ukrainian troops also bringing the convoy under fire from its right flank.

The Ukrainian tank then fires another shot from its 125mm smooth-bore main gun, which destroys a Russian BTR-82A in the middle of the column. This effectively slows down the retreating column, which the Ukrainian tank takes advantage of by firing more shots. Note that the Ukrainians took advantage of the fact that they were perpendicular to the road, to take advantage of the weaker side armor on tanks anf fighting vehicles.  The Russians seemed disoriented and unsure of the direction of the attack and kept firing machinegun tracer rounds to an unknown location that was far from the Ukrainian tank.  You can see armored infantry still running up the road instead of fanning out to protect their own flanks.

#Ukraine: Another Russian BTR-82A destroyed during fighting in Nova Basan, which UA forces retook. pic.twitter.com/5zHIWSj5WE

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 31, 2022

At this point, Russian vehicles in the rear stopped and deployed their troops to look for the tank that was blasting them. They now spotted the Ukrainian T-64BV and their vehicles as the Ukrainians knocked down the wall of their hiding spot due to the pressure from the tank firing another round. Being spotted, the gunners engaged the tank and were on target, but not exactly accurate as the rounds flew by the tank. Keep in mind that the Ukrainian tank has its hull facing the Russian column, thereby putting its most armored portion in the line of attack.

Furthermore, the troops who had spotted the Ukrainian T-64BV fired what seemed to be an anti-tank missile but was ultimately unsuccessful as it hit the house the Ukrainians were using as cover. While this was happening, two Russian vehicles continued to drive past the destroyed BTR-82A. By the end of the firefight, two Russian armored vehicles were engulfed in flames.

While not seen in the footage, it is also entirely possible that other Ukrainian tanks were within the area and were also firing at the column; however, none was seen in the video. It is also unknown whether the Ukrainian T-64 tank survived the return fire upon being discovered.

The video reveals some insight into the Russian forces’ organization and how they secure the area. It shows that they do not provide some form of air surveillance support during their operations, as seen with a Ukrainian drone being able to record the battle. Furthermore, if they had such support, it could have been the case that armed drones could have fired on the tank or at least informed their ground troops that there was an enemy tank in their path. It also reveals that they clearly do not have air superiority in the region.

This video gives the public an insight into the fighting spirit of the Ukrainians. As seen in the video, it was heavily outnumbered but did not hesitate to fight on. They also have good combat knowledge as they were able to find a secure hiding spot relatively near to the Russians and take advantage of their vantage point without getting spotted immediately.

On the other hand, losing tank battles have been a recurring story for the Russians as a team of elite Ukrainian drone units destroyed massive portions of the 40-mile Russian convoy supposedly headed to Kyiv. The Russians’ supposed “elite” 4th Guards Tank Division suffered their defeat and demise at the hands of Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade. Even without Ukrainian tanks, they have been using several of their western-supplied anti-tank munitions such as the Javelins, NLAWs, and their Stugna-Ps to good use, as well as their set of Bayraktar TB2 drones which have wreaked havoc on the Russian forces.