Ukraine Seizes Russian T-80BVM Tank in Kursk Oblast

Ukrainian Defense Forces captured a Russian T-80BVM tank in the Kursk region. The Russians planned to use this tank in the battles in the Kharkiv region.

Footage of the captured tank near the village of Honcharivka was shown by Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov.

The tank was captured on August 10, 2024, by officers of the SSU Military Counterintelligence Department together with scouts from the 80th Air Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The T-80BVM tank was delivered to Ukrainian forces with a full tank of fuel and a complete ammunition package.

Before the Ukrainian offensive, Russian forces set up an ambush for the tank, but the Ukrainians detected the ambush in time.

This tank, under the number 133, was being prepared by the Russians for combat operations in the Kharkiv region.

At the end of May, the tank was spotted as part of a railroad convoy with the tactical markings of the Russian group of troops “North” that was advancing into the Kharkiv region.

The Ukrainian operation in the Kursk oblast began on August 6, and in a matter of days, hundreds of square kilometers of Russian territory came under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

It was only on August 12 that the Ukrainian government first recognized the offensive by the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Kursk region.

Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky has stated that about 1,000 km² of Russian territory is under the control of Ukrainian troops.

The Russian authorities said that at least 28 settlements in the Kursk region are under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

It is also likely that Russia has lost control of Sudzha, the district center where the largest gas metering station for gas transit to Europe through Ukraine is located. Near this town is the village of Honcharivka, where the T-80BVMs were seized.