Russian Marines Welded Shipping Containers Onto Their Tanks. It Didn't Help—And An Entire Russian Battalion Burned.

The Russian Center Group of Forces just lost around 30 vehicles north of Pokrovsk.

The Russian marine corps handed Ukrainian forces north of the ruins of Pokrovsk an early Christmas present: an entire battalion of new BTR wheeled fighting vehicles and T-80 turtle and container tanks.

Units subordinate to the Ukrainian 1st Azov Corps, including the 4th National Guard Brigade, the 1st Assault Regiment and the Lazar drone group—the latter founded by a T.V. producer—spotted the four separate Russian columns from miles away despite the winter fog on Dec. 22.

More and more Ukrainian first-person-view and bomber drones have thermal cameras, which can detect a person or vehicle’s heat signature through the haze.

Lazar reported 24 attacking vehicles, but it’s evident from the post-battle imagery that many more were involved, including at least two container tanks from the Russian 40th Naval Infantry Brigade. The 40th NIB has begun welding shipping containers atop T-80 tanks as an anti-drone expedient.

Surveying the battlefield in the days after the attack, analyst Moklasen counted at least nine wrecked BTR-80/82s as well as nine destroyed tanks, three knocked-out MT-LB armored tractors and two unidentified wrecked vehicles.