Russia deploys new tank in Ukraine that UK says commanders are ‘unlikely to trust’ in battle

Russia reportedly has deployed a new battle tank in Ukraine that the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense suggests commanders will be “unlikely to trust” in combat. 

The T-14 Armata, which has an unmanned turret and is operated by a crew remotely controlling its armaments from “an isolated armored capsule located in the front of the hull,” has started firing at Ukrainian positions, Reuters reported, citing the Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency. 

State media said the new tanks have “not yet participated in direct assault operations,” but have undergone “combat coordination” at training grounds within Ukraine and are being defended with extra protection on their flanks, Reuters added. 

However, the U.K. Ministry of Defense says rolling out the new tanks is “likely to be a high-risk decision for Russia.” 

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“Eleven years in development, the program has been dogged with delays, reduction in planned fleet size, and reports of manufacturing problems,” it said in a series of tweets in late January. 

“An additional challenge for Russia is adjusting its logistics chain to handle T-14 because it is larger and heavier than other Russian tanks,” it tweeted. 

“If Russia deploys T-14, it will likely primarily be for propaganda purposes,” it added. “Production is probably only in the low tens, while commanders are unlikely to trust the vehicle in combat.” 

Moscow first ordered production of 2,300 of the tanks by 2020, but that goal has since been pushed back to 2025, Reuters reported, citing Russian media. 

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In December 2021, the Interfax news agency said the Russian state-owned conglomerate Rostec had started working on building around 40 of the tanks with an expected delivery after 2023, according to Reuters. 

The T-14 reportedly can reach a max speed of 50 mph. 

News of the deployment Tuesday came as Putin ally and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in Moscow that “the world is sick and quite probably is on the verge of a new world war.” 

Medvedev, who is currently the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, added that concerns about a nuclear conflict are more serious than worries about climate change, according to Reuters. 

 

“If the United States continues to follow its current course of confrontation with Russia, with the stakes constantly escalating on the verge of sliding into direct armed conflict, then the fate of START [nuclear arms treaty] may be a foregone conclusion,” Vladimir Yermakov, who leads the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department, also was quoted by the news agency as saying Tuesday.