Ukraine's tactical masterstroke embarrasses Russian military

Ukrainian soldiers might be outnumbered by Russian troops, but they make up for it with their creative strategies. One example of their techniques could be seen in combat footage from July in which Ukrainian soldiers managed destroy one of Russia's most prized tanks.

On July 9th, the Ukrainian news website Militarnyi reported an artillery crew from the Ukrainian Defense Forces hit and destroyed a Russian T-90M tank located roughly 8 kilometers (or about 5 miles) behind the combat line with a 155mm artillery round that contained cluster munitions. 

The Russian T-90M tank was discovered by a Ukrainian Shark drone near the village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region according to geolocation and was presumed to be firing at Ukrainian troops from its position behind the line. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @gnilayachereha

Combat footage captured by the overhead drone and published by the Telegram channel Hnyla Chereshnia revealed the moment the Ukrainian shell hit the T-90M tank. The footage also revealed the aftermath of the impressive artillery strike. 

The video showed the exact moment a 155mm BONUS round unfolded in the air, which was immediately followed by the cluster munitions in the shell striking the tank. Militarnyi reported that the T-90M appeared to have been hit two times. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @gnilayachereha

“Detected by the Shark reconnaissance drone, the Russian tank received two hits on the poorly protected turret roof with two armor-piercing submunitions,” Militarnyi wrote. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @gnilayachereha

The remainder of the video showed what was likely submunition in the tank beginning to burn off as the smoke coming from the tank began to increase. The one-minute and five-second video ended with smoke billowing out of the T-90M 

Photo Credit: Telegram @gnilayachereha

It is unclear from the footage whether or not the tank was destroyed or just damaged in the attack, but it can be assumed from the aftermath of the strike that the tank would be out of operation based on the damage captured by the overhead drone. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @gnilayachereha

The artillery shell used in the attack on the Russian tank is a rather unique but powerful high-precision munition cluster round that was jointly developed by the French defense company Nexter and the Swedish defense company Bofors. 

Known as the BONUS round, the weapon is a 155mm NATO standard shell but carries two autonomous bomblets that can locate a target and attack it using infrared sensors and a laser-guided range finder, which is why it was so effective against the T-90M.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Swadim, Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0

“Both cluster munitions are equipped with a warhead in the form of a high-explosive core, which, upon detonation, penetrates armor up to 130mm thick,” Militarnyi reported, adding the shells were designed to hit the least protected area of most combat vehicles. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Vslv, Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0

The abilities of the BONUS round make its hit on the T-90M tank in Robotyne a little less impressive since it is a precision-guided munition but the cost imbalance of the attack is what makes this particular incident so interesting. 

The National Interest reported in May 2024 that the per unit cost of a T-90M tank was in the $4.5 million dollar range. The cost of a BONUS round is difficult to know exactly but the military website Deagal estimated the per unit cost of a shell was $40,000 dollars. 

“BONUS gives 155mm cannon artillery long-range capability to destroy enemy combat vehicles, ranging from armored personnel carriers and self-propelled guns, to infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks,” BAE Systems, a co-developer and maker of the shell, noted on its website. 

“When launched from any 155mm artillery system, the BONUS carrier shell separates to deploy two sensor-fuzed munitions that then search for targets within a given footprint, up to 32,000 square meters,” BAE Systems added. 

The BONUS round is compatible with most 155mm artillery guns, which means it can work with a lot of the 155mm towed and self-propelled artillery guns Ukraine’s partners and allies have given to the embattled nation. 

According to Dutch open-source intelligence firm Oryx, which has been tracking equipment losses on both sides of the conflict using only unique photo and video evidence, Russia has lost a verifiable total of 101 T-90M since invading Ukraine.

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