Current Events > Ukranian soldier calls Russian tech support for captured tank

(+) Yeah! (+)

In the 20 months of Russias wider war on Ukraine, the Ukrainian army has captured around 200 of Russias T-72B3 tanks.

The T-72B3, a product of Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil, is one of Russias newer tanks. And unlike, say, the T-64BV, the T-80U or the T-72AMT, Ukrainian industry doesnt have much experience with the type.

So when a Ukrainian tanker with the callsign Kochevnik ran into problems with his captured Russian T-72B3problems local expertise couldnt immediately solvehe called Uralvagonzavod tech support. And incredibly, the help line actually helped.

Militarnyi captured Kochevniks calls on video.

Kochevnik serves in the Ukrainian armys 54th Mechanized Brigade, which fights around Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine and operates mostly Soviet-vintage equipment including T-64 tanks and BMP fighting vehicles. It also owns some of Ukraines ex-Russian T-72B3s.

Kochevnik was trolling the Russians, mostly. But his gripes with his 45-ton, three-person tank were real. The tank had been spewing oil. Its compressors werent working. The electrical turret-rotation mechanism kept failing, forcing the crew to rotate the turret with a hand crank.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev9U4ARQzos

While any tank can be temperamental, the list of malfunctions Kochevnik was dealing with might speak to inconsistent workmanship at Uralvagonzavods factories.

A Russian who gave his name as Aleksander Anatolevich, who clearly was unaware that Kochevnik is a Ukrainian soldier, promised hed bring up the problems with the design bureau in Nizhny Tagiland that hed also contact the engine-manufacturer in Chelyabinsk.

Kochevnik wasnt done trolling. He also got ahold of Andrey Abakumov, a Uralvagonzavod director. Abakumov asked Kochevnik to describe the tanks problems in detail on WhatsApp.

Thats when Kochevnik finally revealed hes Ukrainian, and his army had captured the problematic T-72 around Izium late last year.

Laughing, Kochevnik ended the call.

I wonder what they were thinking at the tech support office after he hung up

While any tank can be temperamental, the list of malfunctions Kochevnik was dealing with might speak to inconsistent workmanship at Uralvagonzavods factories.

I wonder what they were thinking at the tech support office after he hung up

I find this part hard to believe. /s

I agree. I'm sure it's actually very consistent workmanship.

I wonder what they were thinking at the tech support office after he hung up

Wouldn't they be able to tell that he has a Ukrainian accent?

Is it a situation where I only see half the war and there is news not being posted here?

So why hasn't Ukraine won yet? All I hear is positive stories on their side. Like OP or the one about the Russia general being fat/old. Or that a bunch of Russian generals died in a drone strike.

Is it a situation where I only see half the war and there is news not being posted here?

Just as there's no singular US accent, there's no single Russian accent.

So why hasn't Ukraine won yet?

So why hasn't Ukraine won yet? All I hear is positive stories on their side. Like OP or the one about the Russia general being fat/old. Or that a bunch of Russian generals died in a drone strike.

Is it a situation where I only see half the war and there is news not being posted here?

I... know that? That's kinda what I was saying.

Given that there's a war going on, what is stopping people from just flooding their customer service with crank calls?