One Tank, Three Soldiers and the End of Russia's Sumy Offensive

Three Ukrainian soldiers in a tank fired shells at point-blank range near the village of Yablunivka

1st Tank Brigade photo

Riding out in broad daylight outside the village of Yablunivka, 10 km from the border with Russia, a three-person T-64 or T-72 tank from the Ukrainian army’s 1st Tank Brigade engaged Russian troops at point-blank range last weekend. It fired several rounds from its 125-mm main gun—and then pumped out a smoke screen and darted back to safety. Mission complete.

The exploding tank shells possibly marked the end of a grueling, month-long battle for Sumy. Seizing the initiative after pushing Ukrainian troops out of western Russia’s Kursk Oblast, a strong force of around 50,000 Russians marched into Sumy, aiming to create a buffer zone along the border and potentially even capture Sumy city, 35 km from the border.

It was a hard fight, but a smaller Ukrainian force—drawn from parts of at least 10 brigades, each with a few thousand people—halted the Russian advance just south of Yablunivka.

Read the rest at Euromaidan Press.