Tank operators of the 54th Brigade complained about the quality of captured tanks to the Uralvagonzavod management

The Ukrainian tank operator with the call sign “Kochevnik” (К-2 Battalion of the 54th Mechanized Brigade) contacted the developers of Russian tanks and asked for advice on the operation of captured tanks.

The Ukrainian Militant Telegram channel published video recordings of phone conversations.

In particular, Kochevnik got through to the alleged developer of the T-72B3M tanks, whose name is Alexander Anatolyevich (there is a person with this name in UVZ management, whose last name is Saponkov. He is the director of one of UVZ’s branches – ed.)

A Ukrainian officer voiced complaints that the tank engine was “spitting oil out” and “the compressor not pumping the atmosphere into cylinders.”

I am the commander of the armored group. The tank is new, but the problem is that we simply cannot operate it. It is unrealistic to fight on it, Kochevnik complained.

Other technical problems identified by the Ukrainian tank operators include the turret’s rotation mechanism. After the electrical equipment fails, the military is forced to rotate it using mechanical drives.

In response, the representative of Uralvagonzavod promised to discuss these problems at the design bureau in Nizhny Tagil “on Tuesday” (probably October 3 – ed.). Aleksander Anatolevich also claimed that it would contact the manufacturer of tank engines in Chelyabinsk.

Kochevnik also contacted Uralvagonzavod General Director Andrey Abakumov (acting deputy general director as of August 2023, according to public data). The Ukrainian officer reiterated the problems with the T-72B3M tank. Abakumov asked him to describe everything on WhatsApp and promised to discuss the problems in detail with the tank’s designers.

In the end, Kochevnik admitted that this was a wish from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which took these tanks as trophies near Izyum in the fall of 2022.