War in Ukraine: What are these “turtle tanks” used by the Russians and are they really effective ?

Le “char tortue” russe. Capture X @clashreport

The war between Ukraine and Russia turns out to be very strategic but both camps must also redouble their ingenuity in order to resist opposing attacks.

Turtles on the battlefields ? These are not real animals but vehicles moving on the front lines which are totally similar to this animal. These are Russian tanks covered with a metal shell – which gives them this turtle look – which makes them more robust to drone and missile attacks, reports The War Zone.

Effective or not?

The images of these combat vehicles come from drones flying over the conflict zone, where we can see Russian tanks carrying this " cope-cage", which is a "an Anglo-Saxon expression that could be translated as a 'cage to do with'", indicates the magazine Géo.

As said, Russian tank that attacked Ukrainian positions on the Krasnohorivka, Donetsk direction; today. pic.twitter.com/jfjHeIwjvj

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) April 8, 2024

If this reinforcement has been used since the start of the conflict by Vladimir Putin's armed forces, it has nonetheless proven effective. This metallic shell forms a "ultimate barrier" against kamikaze drones or even anti-tank missiles.

The very first footages of repelling the largest Russian tank attack of the entire war began to appear. The attack took place on March 30th on the Avdiivka front near the village of Tonenke.
Russia gathered 36 tanks and 12 AFVs for this attack. 12 tanks and 8 AFVs were… https://t.co/ychvqslE7D pic.twitter.com/CnIw1ar9KY

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) April 1, 2024

But Russian creativity nevertheless presents certain limits, since certain "explosive reactive armor", installed on tanks, vans or other types of vehicles, explode at the slightest contact and kill the occupants.

Russian wunderwaffe in action. https://t.co/JjvNujG6SH pic.twitter.com/szNl0uwu9d

— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 8, 2024

The true robustness of this "turtle tank" is therefore called into question and is difficult to judge. Another problem raised: the lack of visibility. Indeed, as visible in the images, the war vehicles advance blindly, not seeing what is happening in the environment around them. It is therefore not the most ideal for fighting.

Note that in the Russian attacks carried out near Avdiïvka, Putin's army left with nearly fifty vehicles, but around twenty tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed, specifies Géo.