Ukrainian Crew Fielding Captured Russian T-80 Tank
Editor’s note: on a recent trip to the front lines, Offbeat Research reported Dylan Burns embedded with the Ukrainian Army’s 30th Mechanized Brigade, which has recently engaged Russian forces using a Russian T-80 tank which was previously captured during the 2022 Kharkiv counter-offensive. This report covers Burns’ embed with these forces. We have taken steps to redact sensitive identifying information to protect the safety and security of the Ukrainian forces involved.
In the tree lines between the open farms and fields which dominate the Ukrainian landscape, Tank crews from the 30th Mechanized Brigade wait for orders in the embattled Donetsk region while fielding a unique battlefield capture: the T-80.
These soldiers are different from most tank units, who typically pilot the workhorse of Ukrainian tank divisions: the T-64. Designed and assembled in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, the T-64 began production in the 1960s, which is why Ukraine had so many at the start of the invasion, and why they currently field more of this older variant than the Russian army.
While the Ukrainians field plenty of T-64s, its more modern sibling, the T-80, is much less common, with the vast majority on the battlefield fielded on the side of Russian tank units. Though produced in smaller numbers at the tail-end of the Soviet Union, these tanks are faster, have better armor, and sport a gas turbine engine, being one of the first tanks to introduce them.
The 30th got their hands on multiple captured Russian T-80BVs, and were in position to use the Russian tanks against their former masters in case of a breakthrough or a call from command at a moment’s notice.
These tanks came into the possession of the 30th after the 2022 Kharkiv counter-offensive, when Russian defenses in the occupied Kharkiv region broke under pressure and Russian combatants made a hasty retreat from the territory as they found themselves undermanned, undersupplied, unorganized, and all around unprepared for the stiff Ukrainian resistance that became the largest war in Europe since World War II.
With their lines overstretched, and Ukrainian forces quickly advancing, the Russian army had to abandon numerous pieces of equipment due to lack of fuel or the general chaos of the Ukrainian advance, which even the Armed Forces of Ukraine seemed surprised by. This led to T-80s, along with many other vehicles, being abandoned, albeit only after their previous owners damaged the tracks, electronics, and poured sand in the fuel tank in a last-ditch attempt to sabotage them and render them unusable.
They obviously didn’t do a good enough job, as after the work of Ukrainian engineers, many of these tanks were put back into service near the front – this time flying the blue and yellow.
These specific T-80s are T-80BVs, one of its earlier models, distinctly covered in Kontakt-1 brick explosive reactive armor. What stood out to me most was the so-called “cope cage” sitting on top of the tank turret. These cages of slat armor first got their name in 2022, when the Russians first invaded and small narrow slats of armor were stuck on top of the tanks marching on Kyiv, which many interpreted were meant to defend against ATGMS top-down attack, like the American Javelin, which fired the missiles that travel above the tank and then hit them from above. Whatever their true purpose, once these modern art masterpieces crossed the border, and Russian tanks started popping turrets, internet sleuths started commenting that the cages were to help the soldiers “cope” and give a false sense of security to push them into battle. As the war went on, the cages grew, and new reasons for their use emerged. The now ever present threat of FPV and grenade dropped drone attacks. The commander of these tanks, callsign “Bo”, who has led them since Sept. 2022, says that it does provide protection against not only anti-tank guided rockets, but FPV drones as well. When asked about its effectiveness, he told me a story about how an anti-tank rocket hit the side of one of the tanks he was commanding, and it saved his crew. In fact, it was the Ukranians who added this cage to their T-80 after it was captured from the Russians.
Another new danger mentioned by name by the tank commander is the Russian “Lancet” UAV loitering munition developed by ZALA Aero Group. These drones are launched from slingshots from Russian positions, fly way above Ukrainian positions with a range of 40 kilometers, loiter while looking for targets, and when one is identified, dive into the target while loaded (with a maximum takeoff weight of 12 kilograms/26 pounds) with high explosives at high speeds.
The use of these munitions climbing rapidly in recent months. I saw the remains of a US-provided M777 Howitzer damaged while providing counter battery fire on the Vovchasnk axis, and a T-64 tank on the road headed to frontline positions on the same front, both taken out by ZALA’s creation. This danger, along with FPV drones, mines placed by sappers and drones in the dead of night, artillery, combined with unprecedented levels of battlefield transparency, has meant armored vehicles face high loss rates during this war, and the need to conceal your moment is as essential for survival. That’s why these tanks stay hidden in tree lines, and with how few of these Ukraine has, it’s not surprising that at least one of the T-80s we filmed with today hasn’t yet seen combat, according to the commander. Ukraine is likely not eager to throw tanks in such short supply out into the fray for minimally rewarding indirect fire missions that many other armored vehicles can accomplish. It does mean though, that if a breakthrough were to occur, or if an opportunity presented itself, then the Russians may well get hurt by their own toys.
