Russian military blunder: Own tanks destroyed in mistaken attack

A Russian blogger specializing in military topics, who runs the Fighterbomber profile on Telegram, posted an entry about destroying a column of Ukrainian equipment in the Kursk region (Russian Federation) by a Russian Ka-52 helicopter. However, the equipment shown in the video actually belongs to the Russians. During the strike, the aggressor's army lost, among other things, T-62M tanks.

Recently, Ukrainians have been conducting increasingly bold maneuvers, as evidenced by their presence in the Kursk region within Russian territory. According to reports, up to 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers may have crossed the Ukrainian border. They have so far destroyed, among other things, a Russian Ka-52 helicopter.

However, the losses on the Russian side are much more significant than initially reported. These include trucks for transporting tanks and the tanks themselves—in this case, the T-62M. One Russian military blogger attempted to convince viewers that the machines visible in the film from the Kursk region belonged to the Ukrainians. In reality, these are Russian army machines.

Notably, the T-62M tanks stationed in the Kursk region may indicate problems accessing newer designs. Analysts have observed that these tanks are ones the Russian Federation can restore to service by obtaining the necessary parts from North Korea. Despite this, Russia still faces issues with increasing factory output enough to cover the ongoing losses incurred in combat.

The T-62M tanks destroyed in the Kursk region were designed in the 1980s, essentially an upgrade of the T-62 tanks from the 1960s. Currently, they do not meet modern military standards in any way. Although the Russians reinforce these designs with reactive armor blocks, the rest of the armor is insufficient protection against newer machines and missiles used by the Ukrainians.

The T-62M features an upgraded engine generating about 600 horsepower compared to its predecessor. However, this engine upgrade did not significantly improve the tank's overall performance due to the increased weight from the added armor. The more efficient engine, therefore, did not result in better machine performance.

The offensive capabilities of the T-62M are based on its 115 mm caliber cannon, which does not match the efficiency of newer tanks used on the front lines. This vehicle's gun is too weak to effectively duel with older T-62s or T-72s. Also significant is the lack of modern optoelectronics in the T-62M, which severely hampers the crew's ability to detect the enemy in the dark, effectively "blinding" the unit.