On May 6, 2022, the Ukrainian forces attacked near Novoazovsk in the Donetsk area, and a turret from a Russian T-72B3 tank took to the sky, according to a Chinese News broadcast. At this time, no one knows exactly how the attack was carried out, but the footage released by China’s Phoenix Television is extremely ridiculous.
This is the full video from the official YouTube channel of the Chinese TV:
Many Russian tanks have a design issue where the ammunition for the main gun is housed right under the turret. This causes a large volume of air to be blown away under the turret.
Since that ammo may explode after the tank is hit, the turret could glide into the sky. These ‘popping offs’ of the Russian tank turrets have been regular throughout the invasion, but this may be the first time one has been filmed going so high.
Taking into consideration that the T-72 turret is at least 12 tons. What an incredible amount of force is required for such a massive object to fly in the sky?!
Why is this News Important?
According to the television program, the tank was destroyed in a region far from the current front lines. It has been estimated that this location is approximately 62 miles from the front lines of the conflict in this region, based on publicly accessible information on the relative positions of Russian and Ukrainian forces.
This attack wouldn’t have been particularly remarkable if it had taken place on the front lines. It didn’t. The site of the attack has been geolocated to near Novoazovsk, a town deep in the separatist “Donetsk People’s Republic”. /2 pic.twitter.com/79bClGLGE2
— ChrisO (@ChrisO_wiki) May 11, 2022
However, the location of Ukrainian forces in relation to Russian and Russian-backed opponents in any fight is very changeable, and we don’t know exactly where they were at that moment. The question of how Ukrainian soldiers were able to attack this place remains unanswered.
The Chinese broadcast mentioned that the region was being bombarded by Tochka short-range ballistic missiles and US-supplied loitering bombs when the T-72 popped its top, but it did not attribute the tank’s strike to a specific weapon system.
Aside from the shocking video, the incident has considerable political and tactical importance. It’s unlikely that the incident would be getting the attention it is today if it had occurred on the front lines.
This is due to the fact that Novoazovsk has been under Russian authority since August 2014, and the city is located just 8 miles from the Russian border. Russia has long regarded this area as safe enough for military operations such as civilian evacuation.
How was this Filmed?
When asked why they were in the area, Phoenix Television, which is partly controlled by the Chinese government, explained that they were en route to Donetsk to capture video of a civilian evacuation that was taking place. Later in the program, it was noted that if they had arrived only a few minutes earlier, they would have been caught in the explosion as well.
This attack wouldn’t have been particularly remarkable if it had taken place on the front lines. It didn’t. The site of the attack has been geolocated to near Novoazovsk, a town deep in the separatist “Donetsk People’s Republic”. /2 pic.twitter.com/79bClGLGE2
— ChrisO (@ChrisO_wiki) May 11, 2022
Because of China’s allyship with Russia, Chinese news organizations are the only foreign news sources active in Russian-controlled territories. The incident would not have been documented if they were not there.
Russian Tanks & Design Flaws
Russian tanks employed in Ukraine have been shown to have a deadly design flaw, which explains why the turrets of these tanks are blown up in the air. Several Russian tanks with their tops blasted off have been photographed since the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Because Russian tanks have shells in their turrets, experts term it a “jack-in-the-box effect.” Because of this, even an indirect strike can kick off a chain reaction that causes the tank’s entire ammo storage to explode, resulting in the loss of up to 40 shells.
An explosion caused by a blast causes the fire or explosion of all the tank’s ammunition and propellant, resulting in rapid pressure buildup inside the sealed internal compartment of the tank, which explodes outwards through the weakest point in the compartment, namely the turret, blowing it straight upwards.
The T-72 and T-80 Russian tanks are the most affected by this design flaw.
Russian Tanks are Losing in Ukraine
T-90M Main Battle Tank, Russia’s most advanced tank, was smashed by Ukrainian forces a few days ago in the northeast Ukrainian region of Kharkiv Oblast.
The new tank has better armor, automated target tracking, higher precision, and the capacity to shoot missiles, shells, and machine-gun rounds. Russian forces may have suffered an important loss with the destruction of this particular kind of tank.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s government recently stated that Russia had lost 24,900 troops, 1,110 tanks, and 199 planes in the eastern European country. Russian tanks and armored vehicles have taken severe casualties, even if these data were an exaggeration from the Ukrainian government.
