This tank, like dozens of others from the same Russian column, came under fire from the Ukrainian army in March, at the height of fighting for control of the Ukrainian capital.
As for the rest of the devastated petrol pumps, they give a glimpse of the social and economic problems facing Ukraine after more than two months of war.
Viktor Karpenko, a local resident, has no doubt which of these debris has the greatest symbolic value.
"The most important thing is that the Russian army is no longer there," says the 53-year-old painter who has just examined the carcass of the tank, near the village of Skybyn.
"The wait for fuel can last up to an hour, but I would wait two hours to make sure things like this never happen again."
The power of the explosion that destroyed the tank - probably killing its occupants - sent the turret and its gun flying across the two lanes of this highway.
A destroyed Russian tank near a gas station in Skybyn, northeast of kyiv, on May 2, 2022 in Ukraine Sergei SUPINSKY AFP
"I think they've lost their last strength here. They've lost their attacking power," says Viktor Karpenko.
Waiting lines
Since the failure of the assault on kyiv, the Russian army has regrouped and concentrated its operations in eastern and southern Ukraine.
But the queues visible on Ukrainian roads since last week show that the damage inflicted on Ukraine does not stop at the military sphere.
The same lines were visible in the early days of the Russian invasion, which began on February 24.
They had diminished only after the Ukrainians had become accustomed, as much as they could, to life in a country at war.
Aerial view of motorists queuing at a gas station in kyiv on May 2, 2022 in Ukraine Carlos REYES AFP
In the streets of central kyiv, marked by a semblance of a return to normal, some are struggling to understand why the gasoline problems persist.
"Some people say there will be no more fuel in Ukraine at all," worries Serguiï Kavoun, a taxi driver who has just started queuing and is preparing for a long wait.
“I tried four gas stations before I found this one. At least a quarter of my income for the day has already gone,” he fumes: “I may have to change my profession. .."
The reasons for this blackout?
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Friday that the large refinery in Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine, and several other large deposits had been "destroyed" by Russian strikes, on her Facebook account.
But some drivers are also convinced that a large part of the gasoline is redirected to the army or the farmers, in the middle of the harvest season.
hint of patriotism
One thing is certain: the problem is particularly acute in kyiv.
The capital of three million inhabitants - at least half of whom had fled in the first weeks of the war - sees its population increase again with the return of the displaced, plus the arrival of those fleeing the Russian offensive in the east from Ukraine.
Suddenly the demand for gasoline increases, while the supply decreases.
Motorists line up at a gas station in kyiv on May 2, 2022 in Ukraine Sergei SUPINSKY AFP
"They say they could soon deliver it from Lithuania and Poland", hopes Serguiï Kavoun, the taxi driver: "They say it's only temporary. We all hope so".
The Minister of the Economy indeed promised on Friday that the shortage would be over in the “next seven days”, the time to “settle the question of the routing” of gasoline from Europe.
Meanwhile, the theory that much of the missing fuel is being used by the Ukrainian military sparks a tinge of patriotism.
"We can walk, that's no problem. Everything has to go to the army - fuel, everything," says Oleksandre Vozniakovsky in the queue.
"We can suffer a little. We will manage. I can drive less. Anything, as long as we win", adds this retiree.
While inspecting the wreckage of the Russian tank, a 19-year-old army recruit who says he goes by the nom de guerre "Kozatchiok" has darker thoughts.
"We use the same type of tanks. One spark and for everyone inside, it's over", he notes: "I could have been sitting in this tank".
© 2022 AFP