During the Russian offensive around the city of Avdiivka, Ukraine has destroyed an armored vehicle that is more than seventy years old. Russia has an acute shortage of military equipment, military analysts have been saying for some time. The images of the destroyed BTR-50 armored infantry vehicle seem to confirm this.
The vehicle was designed about 70 years ago to deliver infantrymen to the front. After twelve years of service it was replaced by heavier successors. Since then, new versions have been made every ten years, up to the modern BTR-90. Every vehicle is vulnerable to mines and anti-tank grenades, but the lightly armed and lightly armored BTR-50 doesn’t stand a chance against more modern weapons developed since the 1950s.
A drone photo taken by the Ukrainian military, published on X, shows a BTR-50 apparently hitting a mine, exploding and rolling over. The bodies of the Russian occupants, blurred in the photo, lie next to it. The armored car can accommodate up to twenty passengers, in addition to two drivers. The image has not yet been verified by independent observers.
In March this year analysts noted and military bloggers already reported that the Russian armed forces had taken BTR-50s out of mothballs. They would mainly serve as a means of transport for men and equipment far behind the front line.
The T-62 also appeared at the front earlier, a tank that was used between 1962 and 1975 and has since been mothballed.
Peter van Ammelrooy
Russian offensive at Avdiivka appears to be weakening, foreign editor Stieven Ramdharie reported on Monday.
2023-10-17 15:11:15
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