Saturday 6 August 2022 03:22 PM Another of Putin's prized T-90 supertanks blown sky high when attack hits ammo ... trends now
Yet another advanced Russian T-90 tank has been destroyed in Ukraine, dramatic footage shows.
The £3million weapon of war was thought to be one of the world's premier tanks, but a spate of destructions since Russia's invasion began has thrown that into doubt.
Video posted on Telegram channel Butusov Plus appears to show the T-90, nicknamed the 'Vladimir', obliterated after its own ammunition is struck by a rocket.
Ukrainian veteran Butusov, who has more than half a million YouTube subscribers, claimed the attack was carried out by the air defence force in Kharkiv.
Before (left) and after (right): the T-90 is blown to smithereens after its internal ammunition appears to have been struck by a rocket. Kharkiv's air defence force was through responsible
Within a few hours, the incredible footage had well over 80,000 YouTube views.
At least 20 Russian T-90 tanks plus two advanced T-90Ms, first built in 2016, are estimated to have been destroyed so far, open intelligence source Onyx claims.
As of this morning, the Ukrainian army claims to have destroyed a total of 1,792 tanks, up three from yesterday.
The vast majority are the less advanced T-72s, but at least a handful of T-90s are also thought to have been wrecked since the outbreak of war on February 24.
The £3million tank is thought to have joined at least 20 elite weapons of war wrecked so far
A destroyed Russian T-90 tank is displayed at an exhibition about the war in Prague last month
Footage first emerged of T-90s being destroyed by Ukrainian soldiers in early May, with a pair of verified losses by Russia prompting excitement in Kyiv.
Days after the first T-90 was destroyed, a second of the supertanks was wrecked with an £18,000 Swedish rocket launcher.
Another is said to have been blown up with a £400 rocket-propelled grenade (RPG).
Another verified video in early May showed the T-90 destroyed by an £18,000 rocket launcher
The T-90 is Russia's most-advanced tank, with the base model entering service in 1992. Production ramped up in the late-2000s.
The T-90M is the latest version of the tank, first entering service in 2016.
Russia is thought to field around 1,000 of all T-90 variants, compared to around 5,000 T-72s - the tank the T-90 is based on and which has done the bulk of the fighting in Ukraine.
The incredible footage emerged as Russian tanks, trucks and artillery are amassing in southern Ukraine. Putin's forces are seeking to tighten their grip on the region amid a valiant counter-offensive by Kyiv.
The Kherson region near Crimea has been under Kremlin control since March 2 after a bloody six-day battle, with Russians driving north from the occupied peninsula.
Yet the
