The Russian Т-90S tank, which is primarily intended for export, became the trophy of the Ukrainian military.
A video capturing a Russian tank was published on the Ukraine Weapons Tracker project page.
According to OSINT researchers, this is the first documented case of the Т-90S capture during the entire time of a Russian full-scale invasion.
This tank has a number of configuration differences compared to the Т-90 base version.
#Ukraine: The first documented capture of the rare Russian T-90S tank by the Ukrainian army – filmed somewhere in #Kherson Oblast.
These tanks, originally intended for export, were instead transferred to the Russian army after the serious armour losses experienced. pic.twitter.com/AIfzVxH0Lh
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) January 12, 2023
One of the main visual differences is that, unlike the Т-90А in service with the Russian army, the export Т-90S does not have a Shtora-1 active protection system in the frontal part of the turret.
Instead, additional reactive armor elements are installed there.
The handling of the export tank was improved by introducing automatic gear shifting and steering drive from the steering wheel.
Last October, Militarnyi reported on the documented involvement of the Т-90S tanks in the formation of units of the Russian invasion forces which participate in the war against Ukraine.
Back then, the military observers assumed that Russia was mobilizing tanks that could be intended to be exported to Algeria, Turkmenistan, or Vietnam.
In the course of hostilities in Ukraine, Russia has already started to lose Т-90S tanks. Photo confirmation of the first destroyed tank of this type was released early in 2023.
The use of export Т-90S tanks might mean that the Russian army suffered heavy losses in armored vehicles, namely in the main battle tanks.
This could also indicate the problems the invaders have with the repair and restoration of damaged combat vehicles.