Ukrainian officer’s captured Putin tank breaks down, so he ‘calls Russian technical support… who actually offers to help’
- Ukraine has so far captured about 200 Russian T-72B3 tanks
- One operator, ‘Kochevnik’, rudely called the Russian manufacturer for support
- He claims to have approached a company director for technical support
A Ukrainian military officer claims he has managed to get Russia to provide technical support for a broken tank captured from Putin’s forces.
A Ukrainian tank operator with the call sign ‘Kochevnik’ got into trouble with his captured Russian T-72B3 and boldly decided to call the manufacturer’s helpline.
To his surprise, someone from Uralvagonzavod, the tank’s manufacturer, picked him up and started giving him advice and support over the phone, he claims.
The officer, who shared a video of his call on social media, said the Russian-made tank suffered from several major problems.
He told the Russian mechanic on the phone that the tank was spewing oil, the compressors were not working and the turret rotation mechanism kept failing, forcing his crew to turn the tank with a hand crank.
‘Kochevnik’ got into trouble with his captured Russian T-72B3 and boldly decided to call the manufacturer’s helpline
Ukraine has so far captured about 200 Russian T-72B3 tanks
The Russian man, who identified himself as Aleksander Anatolevich, was apparently unaware that Kochevnik was a Ukrainian soldier and promised to send his feedback to the tank’s designers.
Amazingly, he then apparently managed to nab a company director named Andrey Abakumov.
The director asked the Ukrainian officer to share more details in a WhatsApp message, before Kochevnik revealed that he was part of the Ukrainian army, which captured the tank late last year.
He chuckled as he ended the conversation with the director of the Russian company.
Ukraine has so far captured about 200 Russian T-72B3 tanks, a newer model that the Ukrainian military has little experience with.
Earlier this year, the Ukrainian army paraded captured and destroyed Russian tanks through the streets of Kiev ahead of the country’s second wartime Independence Day.
Ukrainians walked along Kreshchatyk Street in the heart of the capital, staring at the charred shells of armored fighting vehicles and other pieces of hardware, lined up in a long line like a military parade of the dead.
Residents in central Kiev said they enjoyed displaying the destroyed Russian hardware and hoped it would increase Ukrainians’ fighting spirit.