Russia's best tank goes up in smoke

Russia has for the first time lost one of its most advanced tanks, targeted by Ukrainian forces in Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine. Pictures have emerged of the damaged T-90M battle tank which is built with extra layers of armour and counter-measure systems designed to protect the vehicle from shells and missile attacks. The T-90M which costs about $4.5 million is regarded by the Russian army as its most survivable tank. The loss of one in Kharkiv will be a severe blow, akin, on a lower scale, to the sinking of the Moskva guided-missile cruiser attacked by two Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles in the Black Sea last month. The Russian forces have lost more than 460 tanks since the invasion began on February 24. The Ukrainians claim the figure is more than 600 tanks. They have been ambushed by Ukrainian units armed with US Javelin, British NLAW and domestically-built anti-tank missiles as well as armed drones. However, the destruction of so many Russian tanks has involved the older-generation T-72s and T-64s which have been shown to be vulnerable to modern anti-tank missiles, particularly when targeted against the less-protected turret area of the armoured vehicles. The T-90M Proryv (Breakthrough) hit in the Kharkiv region was first spotted in eastern Ukraine on April 25, suggesting that the Russian defence ministry had held back the deployment of its best tank until it became clear the older-generation tanks were too vulnerable. The T-90M Proryv, the most updated version of the model and the one attacked by Ukrainian forces, has a turret with more armour plating. It is believed there are only about 20 of these updated T-90Ms. How many have been sent to Ukraine has not been disclosed. An image of the crippled tank was posted on Facebook by a Ukrainian journalist, Andriy Tsaplienko. “Here’s a fresh Russian tank. It’s hot, smoking hot,” he wrote. The successful strike on the T-90M was confirmed by the Ukrainian defence ministry. Russia has an even more advanced tank, the T-14 Armata, which was first displayed during the May 2015 Victory Day Parade in Moscow to celebrate the defeat of the Nazis in the Second World War. However, the Armata has made no appearance in Ukraine, even though the Russian military judge it to be a game-changing battle tank. Moscow may have decided it can ill-afford to lose such a prestigious tank.