In what appears to be a novel combat strategy, the Russian Ministry of Defence has claimed that a remotely controlled tank loaded with a significant amount of explosives demolished a Ukrainian stronghold.
The ministry claimed that the tank was loaded with “about 3.5 tonnes of TNT and 5 FAB-100 bombs” in a post on its Telegram channel over the weekend. The typical payload of FAB-100 bombs weighs 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds).
An attack setup and execution duty was given to a Russian tank commander with the signal “Bernaul,” according to a video posted by the ministry on Saturday.
“About 300 meters (984 feet) away from the enemy, the tank operator put the vehicle on manual gas, directing it [to the enemy’s] direction. He jumped out and went to the rear. I stayed behind to observe, and after the vehicle approached the enemy’s positions, I detonated it by radio control,” the commander said.
“The explosion was very serious, there were a lot of explosives … as a result, according to radio intercept data, the enemy suffered significant losses,” he added.
Drone video shows the tank static after apparently hitting a mine close to Ukrainian lines. There is then a huge explosion, but it’s unclear why. A moment before the tank explodes, there appears to be a flash coming from Ukrainian positions, which may have been an attempt to destroy the tank.
On Sunday, a prominent Russian war blogger, “Voennyi Osvedomitel,” shared a video from the pro-Russia “Romanov” channel of drone footage that shows the tank detonating. Osvedomitel said the tank hit a mine before reaching its target.
“Sending an unmanned kamikaze tank filled with 6 tons of TNT to Ukrainian positions in Mariinka. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it, blown up by a mine,” he wrote.
It’s not possible to geolocate the incident but the Mariinka area of Donetsk has seen heavy fighting since the Russian invasion began.