Remember when Ukrainian forces captured one of the best tanks Russia has deployed?

August 2024 was an important month for Ukraine and its struggle to push Russian forces out of the country. This month in the conflict saw Ukraine launch an invasion of Russian territory that captured a wide swath of land and a lot of military equipment.

Just three weeks after the invasion, the Ukrainian military news website Militarnyi reported that Ukrainian paratroopers had captured at least 7 Russian tanks since the operation in Kursk began, several of which were some of the best tanks that Moscow has fielded against Ukraine. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @ua_dshv

The figures quoted by Militarnyi came from the 80th Air Assault Brigade, which the Ukrainian news outlet reported had captured one T-90M, four T-80BVMs, and two T-72s tanks—all tanks that the brigade said would be used against Russian forces in future battles. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @ua_dshv

“The T-72s are in poor condition, it is clear that the tanks have been used for a long time, we are trying to restore them,” the brigade said, noting some tanks had problems with their communication systems while others needed major repairs. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @ua_dshv

In late August 2024, photos and videos of a Russian T-90M Proryv tank captured by soldiers of the 80th Air Assualt Brigade during their invasion of Russia's Kursk region made their way onto social media according to the Ukrainian military news website Militarnyi.

Photo Credit: X @vykhor_group_ua

The captured T-90M Proryv sustained minor damage to its turret but few other details about how the tank was captured were provided. However, this wasn't the first T-90M Proryv captured by Ukraine troops in Kursk.

Photo Credit: TikTok @dukakolyan

Soldiers of the 80th Air Assault Brigade captured another T-90M Proryv earlier in the invasion while operating behind enemy lines in Kursk according to a video report published by the brigade on its social media. 

The Press Service of the 80th Air Assault Brigade posted an interview on the brigade’s Facebook page with a soldier who detailed how paratroopers of the 80th Brigade captured the advanced Russian tank while they were clearing out enemy positions during combat operations in the region. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @80brigade

Militarnyi translated the interview and noted that the Ukrainian soldier said a Russian soldier attempted to start the tank and flee, but he failed. When the T-90M eventually fell into Ukrainian hands, the paratroopers also failed to start the tank because the tank's battery was dead. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @80brigade

After replacing the battery, it took about ten attempts to start the T-90M but it eventually worked and the tank was evacuated to Ukrainian lines. The war trophy was nicknamed Pirozhok (or Pie) but its new crew wasn't happy with the advanced Russian tank. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @80brigade

“Come on, it’s hard to drive this junk, you can’t turn the turret properly, the levers are like a GAZ-66 Shishiga, it’s hard to sit, in general, the new crew is a little upset with the vehicle,” a Ukrainian officer explained about the tank crew’s complaints. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @80brigade

This T-90M Proryv capture wasn't the first time Ukrainian soldiers had captured what Vladimir Putin has called the best tank in the world, nor was it the first loss of a T-90M Proryv since the war began.  

Photo Credit: Facebook @80brigade

In July 2024, several media outlets reported on Russia losing its 100th T-90M Proryv of the war, a number that has gone up by several tanks since Moscow's T-90 Proryv losses reached 100. 

As of September 1st, Russia has reportedly lost 122 T-90M tanks, as well as 42 T-90A tanks, 11 T-90S tanks, and one T-90AK tank according to data published by the Dutch open-source intelligence group Oryx. 

Oryx has been tracking Russian and Ukrainian equipment losses since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022 and is a reliable source of information due to its process.  

The open-source intelligence firm only adds equipment losses to its balance sheet only after it has reviewed unique photo or video evidence of the loss according to the group, and it also distinguishes between destroyed, damaged, captured, and abandoned.  

Oryx also noted that losses are likely higher than what it reports due to its process but it can be used to safely assume that 122 T-90M tanks have been lost during the invasion.  

Over one hundred lost tanks may not seem like a big number compared to the 3,708 tank losses Oryx estimates Russia has suffered, but the T-90M is the best tank Russia currently fields. 

Vladimir Putin called the T-90M Proryv “the world’s best tank” according to a report from the Russian News Agency (TASS), but that wasn’t the only praise Putin heaped on the weapon. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0

“As soon as it approaches positions, no chance is left for anyone or anything. It fires to a longer range and more accurately,” Putin said about the modernized T-90 tank varient. 

“It also has better protection," Putin said—and while the T-90M Proryv may have better protection than other Russian tanks—it hasn’t stopped it from being easily destroyed. 

Combat footage from the war has shown time and again that the T-90M can be destroyed by an M2 Bradley just as easily as it can as a mine, anti-tank missile, or loitering overhead drone. 

Photo Credit: X @DefenceU

Business Insider reported that the first reported losses of T-90M tanks occurred shortly into the invasion when the image of a tank was shared online by Ukrainian journalists. 

It’s important to point out Russia does have a newer and better tank—the T-14 Armata. But only a small number of these tanks were sent into battle before being ordered out of the conflict zone. 

Newsweek reported that the T-14 was only briefly used in combat operations to see how the tank would perform before being withdrawn from duty according to Russian sources. 

The T-90M has been the best Russian tank consistently deployed against Ukraine since the first days of the invasion and its shortcomings have been revealed by the battlefield. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons  By Mike1979 Russia, Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Moscow first deployed the T-90M in 2017 according to National Interest, which reported the tank was “the best the Russian defense industry has to offer in armor technology.”

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Photo Credit: Wiki Commons  By Mike1979 Russia, Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0