Nicolas Tonev, edited by Ugo Pascolo
modified to
3:17 p.m., December 09, 2022
Moscow decides to move up a gear in the Donbass by sending 200 T90M, the most modern Russian tanks in operation, according to a video from the Russian channel NTV. These formidable tanks reflect the Kremlin’s desire for a definitive conquest of the Donbass, while Vladimir Putin has recognized that the Ukrainian conflict is “long”.
It is a decision that says a lot about the will of the Russian general staff in the Donbass. After having brought out the armored park of the Soviet years hoping that it would be enough to win, it is a blow to come in the war in Ukraine: 200 heavy tanks T90M would be on their way to the front, sent by the Kremlin in the independence republic of Luhansk according to the Russian channel NTV. This is the equivalent of the entire fleet of French Leclerc tanks. The T90M is the most modern Russian tank in operation.
2,000 kilometers before the front
In a video shot at the exit of the Uralwagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil, in the heart of the Ural Mountains, we see an ancient diesel locomotive painfully pulling dozens of flatbed wagons. On board, under the tarpaulins of the T90Ms. From Nizhni-Tagil, there are still more than 2,000 kilometers for the trains to travel to the front, plenty of time for the Russians to organize their offensive with their modern tanks and time for the Ukrainians to prepare to face up. Because there are already T90Ms on the Ukrainian front, more than thirty have been destroyed, some captured, one of which is intact, an important Ukrainian war prize to decipher the mode of operation of Russian armament. But a massive influx of these machines to support older equipment already in place could change the situation in the Bakhmout region, in the east of the country.
State-of-the-art artillery
These T90M tanks would shoot at 5 kilometers with their 125 millimeter gun, they would resist certain missiles like the American Javelin, widely used on the ground by Kiev troops. With these enormous reinforcements, the intention of the Russian general staff is clearly displayed: by providing such means to its troops, and assuming that the crews are well trained, these formidable tanks would have as their objective the definitive conquest of Donbass. And thus allow the Kremlin to display a decisive victory in the conflict as quickly as possible, while Vladimir Putin has recognized that the latter is “long”.