A Ukrainian German marten falls into the hands of Vladimir Putin's invading army. Moscow is letting Russia present its loot almost gleefully.
Avdiivka - 30 more tanks to follow. The traffic light federal government has been announcing this for months now on its website about the list of military support services for Ukraine under the “Marder” position.
Weapons for Ukraine: Russian army presents German Marder tank
A corresponding weapons delivery is being prepared, the official listing says. Since the spring of the Ukraine War, Germany had already provided Kiev with 90 of the old armored personnel carriers to defend against the invasion by Russia. The army of Kremlin autocrat Vladimir Putin recently captured at least one “marten”.
Namely near Avdiivka on the hotly contested front in Donbass. The Russian state news agency
RIA Novosti
has now distributed a video that shows Russian soldiers closely inspecting the German-made tank and candidly presenting every little detail of the armored vehicle from the 1970s.
Putin's regime has now recovered the Ukrainian army's Mader 1A3, which was lost in Sieverne on March 1, 2024, and is now presenting it as part of its propaganda campaign. pic.twitter.com/4Q2MVA4HMB
— Julian Röpcke🇺🇦 (@JulianRoepcke) March 26, 2024
Ukrainian losses: Marder infantry fighting vehicle remains behind at Avdiivka
According to Bild
journalist Julian Röpcke , the Ukrainian armed forces
probably had to leave the said “marten” behind at the Siewerne settlement, located around five kilometers west of Avdiivka. On the front of the tank you can still read the inscription “Rheinmetall” from the Rhineland arms manufacturer of the same name from Düsseldorf. You can also see the belt channel, i.e. the ammunition magazine including cartridges for the 20 mm MK 20 RH 202 automatic cannon with a range of up to 2000 meters.
The tank shown also has abrasions on the paint in many places, the gunner's optics and the headlights are partly shot. Apparently the armored personnel carrier and its crew were fired upon with automatic cannons and/or rifles during the battle. The weapons station, on the other hand, looks largely intact. The Russians' video also shows inscriptions in Ukrainian on various controls - these were probably added later as an aid for use on the battlefield.
Tanks for Ukraine: Kiev is waiting for more Marder and Leopard 1
Old speedometers are also shown in the driver's seat area. It says: “Top Speed 50 km/h”. Ergo: maximum speed 50 km/h. Until now, the “marten” had rarely appeared in drone footage of the front lines. The Ukrainians are probably saving on the martens, while Germany (actually) also wants to deliver 105 more Leopard 1A5s - but according to the traffic light coalition's list, the announced delivery has been stalling for months. And while more than at least 26 (source: US magazine
Foreign Affairs
) of an estimated 74 Leopard 2 main battle tanks delivered from the West have now been lost.
Worrying: With the additional Marders and “Leos” 1, smaller tank formations could be rebuilt, in the best case an entire combat brigade. Could. Conjunctive. Because: The wait continues while the Ukrainian army used drones to at least somewhat curb the Russian advances in Donbass at the end of March. Putin's invasion troops had previously captured the small town of Orlivka, which lies exactly on the second Ukrainian defense line between Berdychi and Tonenke, west of Avdiivka. Sjewerne is only a few hundred meters south of Tonenke, where the front currently appears to be stuck.
Tanks, drones, air defense: weapons for Ukraine
Tanks, drones, air defense: weapons for Ukraine
German tanks for Ukraine: There is always a lack of reactive armor
Meanwhile, something else stands out in the “Marder” video that
RIA Novosti
published. Apparently no additional reactive armor was attached to the armored personnel carrier to provide protection against anti-tank grenades such as the feared Soviet RPG-7 by means of a counter-explosion. When the Ukrainian army proudly presented a delivered Leopard 1A5 to ZDF in February, the same flaw was evident. Why this is the case despite the known dangers for the crews has so far remained a secret in the Ukraine war between Berlin and Kiev.
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Category list image: © Screenshot X@JulianRoepcke/RIA Novosti