Today at 23:01
A Lviv tank factory is transferring 12 modernized armored vehicles to Ukrainian soldiers at the front line.
“Everything is new. Explosion reactive armor blocks are all new. It also has anti-shrapnel armor. It is for the cases when the machine is followed by infantry and the shrapnel that hits the armor will not ricochet because of the rubber layer,” 53rd Mechanized Brigade Platoon Commander Vitalii Marusin said.
New paint has just dried and the heavy machinery is ready for combat. Now it’s being tested by the crews that will take the machine to the front line in the east of Ukraine.
Vitalii learned how to drive this type of tanks when he was studying at military academy. But his real learning experience was obtained in battle in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
“Every tank is vulnerable, not just ours. Everything depends on the skills of the crew. The better the knowledge of the crew, the lower the vulnerability. A tank can be punctured within a minute, or it can serve for several years with no accidents. It all depends on the crew and the situation,” he said.
Eight t-64, two t-72 tanks, and two armored recovery vehicles have been modernized and refurbished at this factory for three months. All details were upgraded, in addition, workers added a new fire control system and a thermal vision scope. Communications systems were also improved.
“We have a serious program this year because repairing four types of armored vehicles is of course very hard. And this is the first year since we mastered repairing and modernization of our main battle tank t-64,” Lviv tank factory director Viktor Andrushchuk said.
Andrushchuk showed off how a t-64 looks before repairs. It takes just a month of work to get all its parts fixed and upgraded.
“We got this machine for repairs from the army, specifically from the 24th brigade. You can see its state, it has clearly been in action. We will have to replace the cannon, engine, old observation devices, day and night vision scopes. Everything will be replaced. We will also install new radio comms stations and navigation equipment,” Andrushchuk said.
Aside from the battle tanks, the Zhytomyr garrison will receive GPM-54 armored firefighter tanks.
“It was created on the chassis of the t-55 tank and is suited for fighting fires at arsenals and ordnance storage sites. The tank has a cistern for nine tons of water and equipment that can produce one ton of foam,” firefighter company commander Andriy Mykytiuk said.
The tanks will be sent to the front lines in the Donetsk region in just a few days. Yet the work of Lviv tank factory will not stop. They’ve received an order for repairs and modernization of more than 70 armored vehicles. Half of the order is already complete. The rest will be done by the end of the year.
