A video shared on social media on Saturday purported to show a unit of Azov fighters "stealing" an enemy tank in the recent fighting in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Soldiers of the 12th Azov Assault Brigade recorded the nighttime video.

Repelled an assault and captured a Russian tank.

 

Footage of a failed invaders' assault near Terny, as a result of which the Russians lost 11 pieces of equipment and the Azov fighters evacuated an enemy tank.

Intelligence spotted an armored group of Russians. It was moving… pic.twitter.com/iCpUZdPTmQ

— Azov Brigade (@azov_media) April 6, 2024

In the clip, Ukrainian soldiers can be seen approaching a T-72B3M main battle tank (MBT) and then driving off with it. It is unclear if there were any Russian soldiers inside, or if the MBT had been abandoned.

"Repelled an assault and captured a Russian tank," wrote @azov_media on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

The Azov Brigade and the 95th Airborne Brigade defeated an enemy column of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles and in the process managed to capture the T-72B3M.

Not the First Tank to be Captured in Ukraine War 

Though the Azov Brigade was quick to promote Saturday's actions, it is hardly the first time that Ukrainian forces have captured a tank in the fighting. Dozens, perhaps even hundreds of MBTs and other vehicles have been captured by Kyiv's forces. That included T-80 tanks that were captured from an "elite" Russian unit last year during the fighting for the city of Bakhmut.

The captured vehicle is reported to be equipped with several electronic warfare systems to counter Ukrainian drones.

"All electronic warfare systems were roped together on the tower roof and powered by a nearby gasoline generator. This combination of systems simultaneously created interference on virtually all popular FPV bands," the Ukrainian military announced.

Both sides have been seeking ways to counter drones, which have proven quite effective in striking armored vehicles. 

Moreover, the video harkens back to just over two years ago – during the early days of the war when videos circulated online that showed a Ukrainian farmer towing away a Russian tank that had been abandoned in his field. Similar tales of Russian tanks being captured by other farmers quickly made the rounds, and Kyiv announced that anyone profiting from captured military hardware wouldn't be subjected to a tax.

"Have you captured a Russian tank or armored personnel carrier and are worried about how to declare it? Keep calm and continue to defend the Motherland! There is no need to declare the captured Russian tanks and other equipment, because the cost of this ... does not exceed 100 living wages (UAH 248,100)," NAPC's press service said in a statement to the Interfax Ukraine news agency.

Kyiv has actually rewarded its soldiers for capturing the vehicles – while Moscow has also responded with bounties for destroyed Western-made military hardware as well.

Graveyard of Tanks in Ukraine 

The intense fighting in the eastern region of Ukraine has become a graveyard of tanks. Earlier this month, the Kremlin launched its largest armored assault of its 25-month-long war in Ukraine. However, it seemed that the lessons of more than two years of fighting had been forgotten as Russia essentially replayed the same mistakes, which included sending 48 tanks and fighting vehicles down a single road.

At least a dozen of the tanks were destroyed along with eight infantry fighting vehicles.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.

You can email the author: [email protected].

Image Credit: Shutterstock.