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Russia’s newest tanks enter battlefield in Ukraine – media

The T-14 Armata received a defensive upgrade specifically for the fight against Kiev’s troops, RIA Novosti report

Russia’s most advanced T-14 Armata main battle tanks have been deployed to fight Ukrainian troops, RIA Novosti news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a source. The news comes as Kiev is planning a decisive push against Moscow’s forces.

“The Russian forces have begun to use the newest Armata tanks to fire at Ukrainian positions,” the source said, adding that the tanks “haven’t participated in direct assault actions yet.”

According to the source, the T-14s were fitted with additional protection from anti-tank munitions. Tank crews have been training in one of Russia’s newly incorporated Donbass republics since 2022.

The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics voted to become part of Russia in September 2022. Both regions broke away from Ukraine in the wake of the 2014 coup in Kiev.

In February, a video was posted on social media that purportedly showed a T-14 firing its 125mm gun “in the zone of the special military operation [in Ukraine].”

Konstantin Sivkov, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences, told news website URA.ru on Tuesday that the T-14 will be primarily pitted against the British Challenger 2 and German-made Leopard 2A6 models that were pledged to Kiev by NATO countries.

“The Armata surpasses both of these newest Western tanks in terms of technical characteristics,” Sivkov said. He added that the T-14 can operate as “a command (center)” in a group of Russian T-90M tanks.

The T-14 was unveiled to the public in 2015 and first saw combat in Syria, where Russian forces are supporting President Bashar Assad’s fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and other Islamist militants.

The tank has an unmanned turret that allows a three-member crew to control fire from an isolated armored compartment in the front of the hull.

The news of the deployment of T-14s comes as Kiev prepares to launch a counteroffensive. “We are approaching a crucial battle for the modern history of Ukraine,” Kirill Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, told news agency RBC Ukraine on Monday. “It’s a fact, everyone understands this. When [exactly] it begins is a secret.”

Ukrainian officials said in the past that the success and timetable of offensive operations depend on the delivery of heavy equipment from abroad, including modern tanks. According to leaked Pentagon documents that were discovered this month by news organizations, nine Ukrainian brigades were being trained and equipped in the West, and three more were being prepared “internally” in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last year that Moscow would defend its territory “by all available means.” The Kremlin stated this month that Russia was closely monitoring information about Kiev’s offensive plans and capabilities.

https://www.rt.com/russia/575313-russian-newest-tank-ukraine/

Anonymous ID: 05feda April 26, 2023, 1:39 p.m. No.18757531 🗄️.is 🔗kun >>7546

>>18757524

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Anonymous ID: 05feda April 26, 2023, 1:44 p.m. No.18757564 🗄️.is 🔗kun >>7620

>>18757062

UK confirms depleted uranium munitions already in Ukraine

The Ministry of Defence insists it has no obligation to help clean up areas contaminated by the weaponry

The UK government has already started shipments of depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has told parliament. He added that the British military would not attempt to track where the weapons are used.

In response to questions from Scottish MP Kenny MacAskill, Heappey confirmed on Tuesday that DU munitions for the UK-made Challenger 2 tank had already arrived in Ukraine, though declined to comment on Kiev’s “usage rates for the rounds provided.”

“We have sent thousands of rounds of Challenger 2 ammunition to Ukraine, including depleted uranium armour-piercing rounds,” he said, adding the weapons “are now under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU)” and that the Defence Ministry “does not monitor the locations from where DU rounds are fired by the AFU in Ukraine.”

Asked whether the government has a responsibility to “help clear up depleted uranium rounds” used in Ukraine after the conflict, the minister stated it has “no obligation” to do so, instead stressing “Ukraine's immediate needs.”

While Heappey has claimed that the health and environmental risks posed by depleted uranium are “low,” citing the “monitoring of UK military veterans” performed for a government study in 2007, more recent research suggests the munitions could carry health hazards after all. The US used DU ammunition heavily during its two wars in Iraq, with some researchers claiming the weapons could be linked to a spate of birth defects later observed in the country.

According to Doug Weir, an expert with the Conflict and Environment Observatory, when DU penetrators strike a target, “they fragment and burn, generating chemically toxic and radioactive DU particulate that poses an inhalational risk to people.” Both the US and UK governments have long disputed the alleged dangers, however.

In March, British and American advisers oversaw special training for Ukrainian troops for how to handle DU rounds, which will primarily be used for the Challenger 2 tank. London previously vowed to send a total of 14 of the tanks to Ukraine, though it is unclear whether any have reached the battlefield.

Moscow has repeatedly urged against foreign arms shipments to Kiev, especially the British DU munitions, with the Foreign Ministry condemning London for “absolute recklessness, irresponsibility and impunity.” Last month, the Russian military also warned that the use of uranium shells is likely to “cause irreparable harm” to the health of Ukrainians and inflict “tremendous economic damage to the agro-industrial complex” in the region, citing the weapon’s impact in Iraq.

https://www.rt.com/news/575339-uk-depleted-uranium-ukraine/