“Now we’ll go on reconnaissance,” explains the commander of a tank company with the call sign Centurion, while we make our way ankle-deep in mud along well-worn paths in a rather secluded forest belt.
- I will take the driver mechanics and show them the road along which they will advance to the task.
And the commander of the Marine Corps company will show the gunners and crew commanders where they will work from, where ours are sitting, and where the enemy is sitting.
When faced with a task, we always first, as they say, go there with our feet: on an armored vehicle, without tanks, without anything.
We went, looked at the positions from where to work, where to roll back if something happens, we come back and only after that we start.”
One of the T-80BV tanks, well hidden in a forest belt somewhere in the South Donetsk direction, already has the entire crew: the commander of the Grom tank (his call sign is written in large white letters on the turret), the driver-mechanic Voda and the gunner Mavr.
All from the Far East.
They have been working with such an unchanged team for a year now - from the first day they arrived from the training ground to the North Military District zone.
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“As long as God protects us,” says Thunder.
Since 2009, he served under a contract on a ship as an operator in the radio intelligence service.
In 2022, he was offered to go to the Northern Military District, and he agreed.
“I got off the ship to a ball,” jokes the crew commander.
“The specifics are completely different, but it wasn’t difficult to relearn.”
The T-80BV is an excellent vehicle, and in my opinion there is no better tank than the “eighty”.
Of course, equipment requires constant attention and care, so we spend days hovering around it, servicing it.”
Maintenance of a combat vehicle is one of the main responsibilities of a driver with the call sign Water.
He also transferred to a tank unit from a ship, where he served as a signalman for several years.
As he himself admits, the three-month training at the training ground was easy for him.
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“My father was a tractor driver, so I mastered the tank instantly - I already had to drive the levers,” smiles Voda.
Next to him is a gunner with the call sign Moor, who signed a short-term contract after partial mobilization began.
In the crew, he is responsible for the direct destruction of the enemy.
“Even though they are exhausted, they resist to the fullest,” Moor gives his characterization of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
- They stand to death.
They have both fanatics and mercenaries.
But we will crush them.
Sooner or later they will end anyway.”
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On your sector of the front
In addition to the standard anti-cumulative protection, a so-called barbecue is welded to the tank - a homemade canopy to protect the tower from drones, which are used by the enemy in large numbers along the entire length of the front.
This know-how of Russian military personnel, invented during the SVO, has proven to be extremely effective.
The Thunder crew confirms this.
“Birds” fly with drops, kamikazes fly, “Baba Yaga” flies - everything that the enemy has, he is still actively using,” says the Centurion company commander.
— They use both ATGMs and, recently, often — cluster munitions.
If last year we could easily work at night, just go out and be on duty with the hothouses, then at this stage it has become more difficult.
And in the dark now our tanks operate only in case of emergency.”
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However, as military personnel note, in that section of the South Donetsk direction where the tank company is constantly deployed, the activity of hostilities has recently decreased.
“My unit is at the complete disposal of the Marine battalion,” explains the tank company commander.
“Therefore, if our work is urgently needed, then we help them here, in this area.”
According to intelligence data, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are now accumulating personnel here - and we are preparing.”
The details of the upcoming task, for which the tankers will soon go to prepare, cannot yet be disclosed.
However, last time the Grom crew distracted the enemy's attention to ensure the work of the scouts.
“We worked with two machines directly in the Ukrainian forest belt,” recalls Grom.
“While the enemy was busy with us inflicting fire on him, the guys were doing things behind his back.”
"With trawl and shooting"
“Our main task now is to prepare crews and tanks for battles near Novomikhailovka.
Several of our “boxes” are already working there,” says Centurion, just before leaving with his personnel for reconnaissance.
Near Novomikhailovka, the unit's tanks are directly involved in the assault on enemy strongholds, providing not only infantry cover and fire engagement of targets, but also mine clearance.
The claws that are located in front are trawls; they descend and literally plow the ground, removing mines from it.
“There are very large minefields in the Novomikhailovka area.
Ukrainian troops were well prepared and blocked all our approaches to the settlement.
There are a lot of mines.
Therefore, at the head of the attacking forces there is a tank with a trawl and shooting, and attack aircraft are riding behind on the equipment - trail after trail, so as not to get blown up, explains RT’s interlocutor.
“In that section, all our crews showed themselves worthy.
There are no questions for the tankers there.
These are the words of the brigade commander.
We complete all assigned tasks in full.”
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The centurion emphasizes: despite everything, it cannot be said that the enemy has weakened.
Units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to offer fierce resistance, especially in Novomikhailovka.
“I understand why they do this in this direction.
Because they know that we can cut the road there that goes to Ugledar.
There are commanding heights on the other side.
And that's why they fight to the end.
But we also have no choice - only forward.
Not a single crew that is here will definitely give up,” he sums up.