It was a wonderful symbol of resistance. The John Deere brigade was shown all over social media lugging away Russian military equipment, worth tens of millions of dollars. Western predictions that Ukraine would fall in a few days were wrong. Europe's breadbasket could hit above its weight. It was in the business of repos.
Russian captured vehicles were usually given a quick coat of paint and adorned with Ukrainian flags before being sent back out to battle their previous owners. The Ukrainian military have pushed vast quantities of captured Russian armor into frontline service as a result of what was initially an organic and ad hoc tractor effort. There has been a lot of new vehicles in the last week because of the retaking of the entire district by the Ukrainians.
Russian armored vehicles were left abandoned on the battlefield as they tried to escape the Ukrainian advance. The footage uploaded to social media by victorious Ukrainian troops showed rows of BMP infantry fighting vehicles, neatly parked in the liberated city of Izium, seemingly in near- perfect condition, while T-80U tanks from Russia's elite Fourth Guards Tanks were left abandoned at a maintenance station.
Since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainians have captured a minimum of 1,841 pieces of heavy Russian military equipment, including 356 tanks, 606 armored fighting vehicles, and 363 trucks. The true total is likely to be much higher as Oryx only includes equipment that has been visually confirmed.
There were a lot of Russian vehicles that ran out of gas in the early days of the war. In the last few months, that has happened less. It picked up again after the event in Kharkiv.
The captured vehicles have been painted black. They have upgraded and improved them. An extra Browning M2 heavy machine gun was mounted on the cab of the captured "Tornado-U" trucks.
A soldier in the TDF and a well-known journalist before the war said that many of the vehicles captured have been Russian armored vehicles. The ZSU-2 23 anti-aircraft autocannon is an upgraded weapon.
One of the TDF brigades has an entire garageful of Russian armored vehicles, due to what Matsarsky described as "special tactics" to immobilize Russian vehicles. One group of TDF fighters used a light mortar to shell a Russian BTR armored personnel carrier that took a regular patrol route and caused the crew to leave it behind.
Many of the Russian vehicles that are left behind are undamaged. The Russians don't have the discipline to fix them. It has historically done well to build rugged heavy trucks despite Russia's inability to match the latest Western advances.
Because so many Ukrainians were forced into military service as a result of the war, they had to use civilian cars for transportation. They were vulnerable to Russian attack due to their limited off-road capability and lack of armor. In a single month, one of the commanders went through three vehicles.
More and more of the soldiers in the Ukrainian army are now driving with bullet- and artillery-proof armor. It also means less casualties and more sustainable on the battlefield. It is easier to steal a Russian armored vehicle for use by the TDF than it is to argue with other units in the Ukrainian Army.
One of Russia's latest heavy military trucks is called the "Tornado-U" and it features an armored cab, a 440-hp engine and a 6x6 frame. A range of towed weapons, such as howitzers or anti-tank guns, can be hauled by the Tornado-U.
Other types of Russian kit have been grabbed by Ukrainians. The rocket-launcher tubes were salvaged by the Ukrainians and mounted on the backs of pickup trucks. Even though Grad rockets are old technology, they are still deadly, and there is still plenty of bullets for them.
Ukrainian soldiers say refurbished Russian materiel is not a substitute for continued support from their Western partners.
Russian guns and tanks are old. The barrels are worn out and the age of the equipment is very old.
Imagine what would happen with a brand-new tank.
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