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Russia has deployed its armored fighting vehicle “Terminator” on the Donbas.
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Photos and videos posted on social media show the vehicles near a town in Donbas.
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The vehicles are made for missions in urban environments, but Russia is believed to have only nine.
Russia has deployed its “Terminator” tank support vehicles in Ukraine as the Russian military campaign attempts to encircle Ukrainian defenders in the eastern Donbas region.
A Russian military source told Russia’s state news agency RIA that a platoon had been deployed to Ukraine.
It is believed that Russia has about nine of the armored vehicles, which are built on the chassis of the T-72 tank. Officially designated BMPT, the Terminator is heavily armored and armed, designed to defend tanks from ambushes and close range attacks in urban environments.
Justin Crump, a former British Army tank commander, told Sky News that the Terminator’s deployment around Severodonetsk, a city in the Luhansk region of the Donbas, demonstrated the “determination to attack that city” by Russian forces.
Crump said the vehicle was a “signature Russian device”.
“It’s nicknamed the Terminator — it’s a tank support vehicle,” he said. “It’s designed to do the work of infantry in support of tanks. So it’s a tank with a turret designed to suppress enemy infantry.”
Terminators have four anti-tank rocket launchers, two 30mm autocannons, two grenade launchers, a machine gun and a top speed of 56 mph, The Times of London reported.
Russian armored vehicles take a heavy toll in Ukraine. Researchers have counted 671 lost tanks and 365 lost infantry fighting vehicles in nearly three months of war. In addition to the proliferation of accurate anti-tank missiles, Russian tank operators have made mistakes that exposed them to artillery fire, and Russian commanders have deployed them without infantry or air support, decisions so erroneous as to contribute to a reassessment of the military’s effectiveness.
Even when used properly, BMPT’s Russian inventory is too small to defend most of its tanks.
Russian state media outlet TASS reported in 2017 that the vehicle was designed following the experience of the Russian armed forces in Afghanistan. A senior executive at the Russian tank manufacturer UVZ told TASS: “The tank support combat vehicle is not worse protected than any other tank. Its multiple weapon systems have a much greater firepower and are able to hit multiple targets in different directions at the same time.”
Terminators have previously been used in Russian combat operations in Syria, RIA reported.
Read the original article on Business Insider
