Russian attack with stolen vehicles is unsuccessful
4:58 PM EST, November 16, 2023
The Russians opted to deploy battle vehicles that were pilfered from Georgian soldiers during the 2008 conflict. The Ukrainians have reported their first successful interception of such a unit. These are BMP-1U with Squall modules, significantly upgraded from the original prototype.
News about subsequent disgraceful Russian acts surfaced in September. This was the period when the Russian Ministry of Defense broadcasted a propagandist video showing additional units being dispatched to the war in Ukraine. This footage revealed the presence of BMP-1U vehicles fitted with Squall modules, which were formerly owned by Georgia. Recently, online leaks confirmed that Putin's army had lost at least one such vehicle.
Hit of the Russian BMP-1U "Squall"
The demolition of the vehicle was captured in a video by an unmanned aircraft operating near Avdiivka, a locale that has witnessed intense combat for weeks. Although the event took place in October, the footage only recently appeared online. The successful interception was executed by the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian army.
Originally, these Soviet-standard vehicles were fitted with a 73 mm caliber cannon, a 9M14 Malyutka anti-tank guided missile launcher, and a 7.62 mm machine gun. The "Squall" variants received a turret module weighing about 1.4 tons (fully loaded with ammunition). It carries more advanced weaponry, including an automatic ZTM-1 30 mm caliber cannon with sighting devices and a KB-117 30 mm automatic grenade launcher.
The new turret module's considerable weight and space requirement reduced the vehicle's internal capacity from eight to six occupants. Unaltered from the original version, the BMP-1U "Squall" retained a tracked drive and an engine that allows for speeds up to approximately 40 mph. The vehicle can cross bodies of water, albeit at a speed not exceeding 3 mph.
It's vital to note that these "Squall" variants of Soviet vehicles were developed in Ukraine. 15 units were sold to Georgia, out of which the Russians seized as many as 14 during the 2008 conflict. The number of these vehicles that Putin's army has deployed to the current warfront remains uncertain.
