Video Shows Destruction of Russia's Advanced T-90 Tank: 'Just Disappeared'

Ukrainian forces have destroyed an advanced Russian T-90M tank along the front lines, new footage appears to suggest, as both Kyiv and Moscow await the freezing conditions of the upcoming winter months.

The clip, widely shared on social media, purportedly shows the destruction of the Russian tank at an unspecified location in Ukraine. In the video—which looks to have been filmed by an aerial drone—the tank is suddenly struck and engulfed in flames.

Newsweek could not independently when nor where the video was filmed, nor whether the tank belonged to the Russian military. The Russian defense ministry has been approached for comment.

Videos thought to show the targeting of Russia's T-90 tanks have previously circulated online, and can often make for effective propaganda for Ukraine. In mid-August, Ukraine's 80th Air Assault Brigade posted a clip it said showed a drone strike on a T-90 tank that had tumbled off a cliff in the war-torn country. In late October, Ukraine's defense ministry released a video appearing to show an explosive drone targeting, then hitting, a Russian T-90 tank.

Russia has lauded its T-90M tank, also known as "Proryv-3," or "Breakthrough-3." In late December 2022, Russian state media reported that the T-90M had been deployed to Ukraine for the first time.

It is the "most advanced armored vehicle in the family of T-90 tanks and most of all fit for operations on a present-day battlefield," the Tass news agency wrote of the Proryv-3. It has a 125mm cannon "that can fire new powerful munitions" and some missiles, the state news agency reported, as well as operating at night and having enhanced communication systems with other combat vehicles.

Its armor is similar to that attached to Russia's T-14 Armata tank, according to Tass. Once thought to be a formidable vehicle, the T-14 has proven lackluster for Moscow and was plagued by complications and delays in development.

The T-90M Proryv "seems impressive, but Russian tanks always look good until they are actually used in combat," military technology and defense expert Michael Peck told Newsweek in March 2023. The T-90M is broadly comparable to the U.S. Army's M1 Abrams main battle tank, a number of which are now in Ukraine.

Russian tank losses in Ukraine are thought to be substantial. Between February 24, 2022, and the start of October 2023, Russia lost at least 2,472 tanks in Ukraine, according to Dutch open-source intelligence outlet, Oryx. Of this number, 50 are T-90Ms, with 34 T-90As destroyed, damaged, captured or abandoned.