Ukrainian brigade's heroic stand: Repelling assaults, capturing tanks

One of the Ukrainian brigades operating on the main front line boasted a significant achievement. In one day, they repelled three Russian assaults and eliminated 13 units of their equipment. What exactly did the invaders lose?

The actions, which caught the attention of the media and analysts reporting on the war in Ukraine, were carried out by soldiers from the 46th Independent Airmobile Brigade. A brief report with a video showing fragments of the clashes was posted on the brigade's official Telegram messaging profile.

As explained, they managed to repel three Russian assaults in one day — August 21. All this occurred around Kurakhove in the Donetsk region. Artillery (including L119 systems with 4-inch missiles) and ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles) were primarily used to hold back the Russians, and after the shelling, drones were deployed.

"In total, the enemy's losses amounted to 13 units of weapons and military equipment," the Ukrainians summarized in their report.

The mentioned Russian losses show that they used both old Soviet-era systems and much newer and more dangerous equipment in their failed assaults. Among the destroyed equipment were infantry fighting vehicles BMP-2, and among the damaged vehicles were armored personnel carriers MT-LB, which are based on tracked traction and engines with a power of 322 horsepower, and the T-90 tank.

The T-90 is a family of Russian main battle tanks. The first units began production in 1992. These tanks are major modernizations of the T-72 tanks.

They are equipped with a 5-inch smoothbore gun, machine guns of calibers .3 and .5 inches, and the Shtora active protection system. They can accelerate up to a maximum of approximately 40 mph. The latest variant, the T-90M, is called "Putin's pride," with claims that "it is the best tank in the world." The war in Ukraine and the significant losses of these tanks contradict such declarations.

In June of this year, military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko estimated that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russians had lost (considering destruction, damage, and units captured by Ukrainians) 145 tanks of the T-90 family.

The number is currently even higher, as several documented and successful attacks on these Russian machines have occurred in recent weeks. Two T-90Ms were also captured during the offensive in the Kursk region.