Russia loses T-90 tank to Ukrainian drones in ongoing conflict

A burning Russian T-90 tank somewhere in Ukraine, illustrative photo

A recording has surfaced online confirming the destruction of yet another T-90, the best tank possessed by the Russian units participating in the war in Ukraine. We delve into the details of the incident and the key features of this tank.

The video was published on the official profile of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence on the X service platform. As noted in a brief description, the elimination of this T-90 unit is credited to the work of the 47th Mechanized Brigade. The behind-the-scenes detail is intriguing because the Russian tank crew tried to hide from the Ukrainians but did so either too slowly or too clumsily. As a result, the moving tank was detected by Ukrainian drones and eliminated shortly after.

Russians lose another T-90 tank

"The tank tried to hide in a hangar, but our drones found it even there," wrote the Ukrainians.

The T-90 is a family of Russian main battle tanks, with the first units produced in 1992. They were not developed from scratch but as a deep modernisation of the T-72 tanks. Nonetheless, they possess armour and equipment significantly higher than other tanks deployed to the war in Ukraine. More advanced are the T-14 Armata tanks, which are slowly entering service in the Russian army, but they have not been sent to the front.

The T-90 tanks are equipped with a 125 mm smoothbore gun and 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm machine guns. They also feature the TSzU-1-7 Shtora active protection system, which increases the level of protection against enemy anti-tank missiles. They can reach a maximum speed of about 65 km/h (40 mph).

The newest variants - T-90M - are considered by Vladimir Putin to be the "best tanks in the world." However, the war in Ukraine is testing the dictator’s claims. The Ukrainians are systematically eliminating additional units.

Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko estimated that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russians have already lost 145 tanks from the T-90 family. This number includes destroyed, damaged, and captured units by the Ukrainians.

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