VLADIMIR Putin has deployed his most bizarre “turtle tanks” yet as the tyrant lost nearly all his modern military equipment since the start of the war.
The Soviet-era relics were seen underneath steel plates and chain fringes as they hit the battlefield in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on Tuesday.
A Russian T-80 tank rolls in Donetsk region in Ukraine[/caption]
The bizarre Soviet-era relics are shielded with steel plates and chain fringes[/caption]
Putin has been resorting to using old military equipment after losing nearly all modern tanks since the start of the war[/caption]
The T-80 tanks, originally introduced into Soviet military service in 1976, have become a symbol of Russia’s humiliating reliance on older military equipment.
The ad hoc armour are meant to be an attempt at shielding Vlad’s dwindling troops against Kyiv’s drones and anti-tank missiles.
Pictures show steel sheds covering almost the entire tank, leaving a gap at the front for the turret to fire at enemy troops.
But visibility and field awareness from inside the mechanical beasts are surely hampered as a result.
Russian tanks have been appeared underneath the turtle shell-like cages after it was revealed that Putin embarrassingly lost almost all of the tanks he had since invading Ukraine.
Since before the grim two-year milestone in Mad Vlad’s war, Russian top brass have been forced to rely on “warehouses and warehouses with stockpiles of vehicles left over from the Cold War”.
One clip showed the moment several of Putin’s “turtle tanks” were reduced to flames by Ukraine in a series of striking battles.
Ukraine swiftly repelled Russia’s failed attempt of an armoured assault on Lyptsy, Kharkiv Oblast, back in August.
A series of short clips showed the chunky tanks being blown up left right and centre with pinpoint accuracy.
In a matter of seconds, Ukraine’s 92nd Assault Brigade managed to hit each tank and set it alight as numerous explosions would take place on the battlefield.
One video even shows Putin’s scrambling forces fleeing the box-looking tank as Kyiv had their aims on them.
A humiliated Vlad even had to cancel last year’s May 9 celebrations – the most sacred day in the Russian calendar – because there was not enough heavy duty military equipment to show off.
The patriotic military parades are held throughout Russia as a means of celebrating the country defeating Nazi Germany in World War 2.
These events are usually used by Putin to showcase the might of the Russian military machine and garner national pride – led by a giant parade in Moscow‘s Red Square.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the flag-waving day used to involve tanks, nuclear missiles and huge guns rumbling through the capital as warplanes soared overhead.
A ‘turtle tank’ with a Russian flag is seen ploughing through the battlefield[/caption]
Ukraine previously wiped out several of Putin’s ‘turtle tanks’ in Lyptsy, Kharkiv Oblast[/caption]
Russian tanks have often appeared underneath the turtle shell-like cages[/caption]
But last year, Victory Day was cancelled across a swathe of Russian territories with a pared-down event in Moscow with barely any heavy duty military equipment on display.
After two years of war in Ukraine, rumours were swirling that the parades were called off due to a lack of tanks to even put in the parades.
But that is not stopping the Kremlin tyrant from making more threats at Ukraine and the West.
Moscow on Tuesday said it is “preparing a response” to Ukraine after saying it fired several US long-range missiles at Russia in the past few days.
Russia’s defence ministry said: “According to confirmed data, over the past three days, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have carried out two strikes with long-range Western weapons on targets in the Kursk region.”
In recent weeks North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Mad Vlad and last Tuesday embattled Kyiv unleashed its first long-range missile into Russia.
There are now fears that war will spill over national borders, with Germany being the latest country to ramp up precautionary measures.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and his government are urging resilience amid ongoing attacks, including cyber threats that could disrupt power grids and internet infrastructure.
The growing threat has prompted warnings from British officials at NATO about the risks of cyber warfare.
A senior NATO chief also warned that Europe must prepare for total war with Putin as nations are stepping up both military and civilian defences amid rising tensions.
It comes after two US Stratofortress bombers carried out a mission flying near Russian airspace on Monday in a powerful show of force to Moscow.
A car lies wrecked under the rubble of a building destroyed by a Russian missile strike on the Kyivskyi district in Kharkiv, Ukraine[/caption]
Ukrainian servicemen of the 43 Artillery Brigade fire a 2S7 Pion self-propelled cannon towards Russian positions at a front line in the Donetsk region[/caption]
A Ukrainian soldier loading artillery shells in the direction of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast[/caption]