Russia’s most advanced T-14 Armata main battle tanks have been deployed to fight Ukrainian troops, RIA Novosti news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a source. The news comes as Kiev is planning a decisive push against Moscow’s forces.
“The Russian forces have begun to use the newest Armata tanks to fire at Ukrainian positions,” the source said, adding that the tanks “haven’t participated in direct assault actions yet.”
According to the source, the T-14s were fitted with additional protection from anti-tank munitions. Tank crews have been training in one of Russia’s newly incorporated Donbass republics since 2022.
The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics voted to become part of Russia in September 2022. Both regions broke away from Ukraine in the wake of the 2014 coup in Kiev.
In February, a video was posted on social media that purportedly showed a T-14 firing its 125mm gun “in the zone of the special military operation [in Ukraine].”