Russian Civilians Keep Getting Killed by Putin's Tanks


Russia's military vehicles have been involved in a spate of fatal accidents this summer, resulting in the deaths of Russian civilians.

At least four incidents in June and July have seen Russian President Vladimir Putin's tanks and trucks hitting civilian cars on Russian roads.

A woman, 39, and her 6-year-old son were killed after a Russian military truck crashed into their vehicle in Novoshakhtinsk in Russia's southern Rostov region. Three other children—ages 9, 16 and 17—were hospitalized after the crash, local media reported on Wednesday.

Investigative Russian news outlet The Insider reported that markings on the vehicle indicate it belongs to Russia's Eastern Military District.

It marked the third such incident this month, independent Russian outlet the Moscow Times reported.

On July 24, a Russian tank crashed into a civilian car in Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, killing the driver, according to the local Telegram channel Pepel.

"A man died under the wheels of a tank," the channel said, adding that the tank failed to give way to the car and drove over it.

The victim was 73-year-old local resident Konstantin Lopatin. Witnesses said the soldiers operating the tank were "in a state of insanity."

In a similar incident in early June, Russian troops who were reportedly intoxicated ran over a civilian car, killing Belgorod resident and truck driver Andrey Alekseyev, Pepel reported.

"Judging by the position of the body, the man probably tried to get out of the car at the last moment, but did not have time," the channel said, analyzing video footage from the scene.

A witness told Pepel that the soldiers in the tank attempted to flee from the scene of the accident. The tank was stopped near the village of Krasivo, nearly two miles away.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

In Ukraine, there have been reports throughout the war that Russian tanks have accidentally run over their own troops.

Pro-Kremlin channel Grey Zone posted battlefield footage last February that showed two soldiers being dragged under a tank, and a soldier covered in flames running from a tank shortly before it explodes.

The footage "speaks for itself," the Grey Zone channel said.

"At least 30 pieces of lost vehicles, burning tankmen running around, and footage that looks like it's from the movie Purgatory about the war in Chechnya with BMPs [armored personnel carriers] crushing own soldiers."

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