Video Shows Moment Ukrainian Soldiers Capture Russian 'Turtle' Tank

Video just released by Ukraine's military shows Kyiv's troops capturing a Russian military vehicle dubbed a "turtle" tank, along with its crew, and driving it away.

The "turtle" nickname came as a result of Russian engineers fitting crude metal structures on tanks to protect them from anti-tank fire, a move copied by Ukraine.

A 76-second video filmed by drone shows a tank surrounded by trees with troops standing inside. A close-up reveals one soldier being handcuffed as he looks around. He vehicle then reverses onto an offroad track and drives off.

A bird's eye view from a different angle shows the yellow and blue Ukrainian flag being hoisted on top of the vehicle. No details about location or date were given in the post, about which Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense posted a still image of its troops sporting broad grins as they posed in front of the vehicle's turret with their country's flag fluttering behind them.

"A trophy 'turtle' tank in service with the #UAarmy," the post said. "The warriors from the 22nd Mechanized Brigade captured a Russian tank with a metal roof atop its hull and turret."

Pro-Ukrainian X user Jürgen Nauditt, who gives regular updates about the war, posted next to screen grabs of the scene, "for the first time, the Armed Forces captured a Russian turtle tank and captured its crew in the eastern direction."

Meanwhile, in sharing the video, Ukrainian internal affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko wrote how it showed "Ukrainian warriors capturing a Russian' 'turtle tank' in a post that ends with the word "Glory!"

Ukrainian social media users have posted videos in recent months of the tanks scurrying across open ground, often making fun of the makeshift contraptions.

In April, a video went viral of a T-72 tank covered in the additional armor moving through a field around the Donetsk town of Krasnohorivka, with one social media user dubbing the vehicle a "Ninja turtle tank."

On Monday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that Russian forces lost two tanks the previous day, taking the total for the war that began with Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion on February 24, 2022, to 7,958.

Tracking website Oryx, which uses still or moving images to verify equipment losses, gave a much lower tally, with the caveat that "the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here."

It put Russian tank losses as of Monday at 3,137, of which 2,118 have been destroyed, 157 damaged, 346 abandoned and 516 captured.

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