Desperate to clear mines.
In the no-man’s-land.
Between ‘orcs’.
And ‘elves’ positions.
—and equally desperate.
To protect.
The mine-clearers.
From ‘elves’ explosive drones—
The ‘orcs’ military.
Devised a new kind.
Of vehicle.
This spring.
It’s an up-armored tank.
With mine-exploding rollers.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And any infantry passengers.
From first-person-view drones.
The ‘elves’ quickly.
Nicknamed the do-it-yourself.
Assault vehicle.
A “turtle tank.”
—and refer to the hastily.
Applied sheet metal.
And grills as.
“Barbecue armor”.
As soon as the turtle tanks.
First began crawling along.
The 700-mile front line.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war on Ukraine.
In April.
The ‘elves’ began.
Devising ways of.
Destroying them.
A direct hit by.
An artillery shell.
Anti-tank missile.
Or uncleared mine.
It can do the trick.
And so can.
Back-to-back strikes.
By the very FPV drones.
The turtle tanks were.
Designed to defeat.
As the ‘elves’.
Demonstrated recently.
It’s an up-armored tank.
With mine-exploding rollers.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And any infantry passengers.
From first-person-view drones.
The ‘elves’ quickly.
Nicknamed the do-it-yourself.
Assault vehicle.
A “turtle tank.”
As the ‘elves’ 108th.
Territorial Defense Brigade.
Demonstrated.
On or before Saturday.
The brigade’s SkyForce drone group.
Spotted a T-62 turtle tank.
Along the front line.
In southern Ukraine.
—and aimed at least.
Two of their bird-sized.
FPVs at it.
At a T-62 turtle tank.
“The ‘orcs’ occupiers.
Firmly believe that.
If a protective structure.
Of the barbecue type is.”
“Welded on top.
Of the tank.
It will provide guaranteed.
Protection against drones.”
The 108th.
Territorial Defense Brigade.
Explained on social media.
“But operators.”
It’s an up-armored tank.
With mine-exploding rollers.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And any infantry passengers.
From first-person-view drones.
The ‘elves’ quickly.
Nicknamed the do-it-yourself.
Assault vehicle.
A “turtle tank.”
“But operators of.
The SkyForce group …
Prove that this is.
Not the case at all.”
As a surveillance drone.
Observed from high overhead.
One FPV struck the tank.
On its metal-encased flank.
Soon, a second FPV.
Zoomed in—apparently.
Aiming for.
The same side.
The strikes triggered.
A blaze that.
Consumed the tank.
“Double defeat.”
Is how the 108th.
Territorial Defense Brigade.
Described the back-to-back.
Strike tactic.
The method makes sense.
Many of the best anti-tank missiles.
Have “tandem” warheads.
With two explosive charges.
It’s an up-armored tank.
With mine-exploding rollers.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And any infantry passengers.
From first-person-view drones.
The ‘elves’ quickly.
Nicknamed the do-it-yourself.
Assault vehicle.
A “turtle tank.”
The first charge punches.
A hole in a tank’s armor.
The second charge explodes.
Inside the tank.
In order to inflict.
Maximum damage.
The SkyForce group’s.
Double-defeat method.
For striking turtle tanks.
Transforms a pair of FPVs.
Into a de facto.
Tandem warhead.
One drone to make a hole.
In the outermost armor.
A second drone to deliver.
A blow underneath the shattered shell.
Whether other brigades.
Can coordinate their drones.
To land one-two hits.
Remains to be seen.
It’s also unclear.
Whether all turtle tanks.
Are equally vulnerable.
To tandem strikes.
It’s an up-armored tank.
With mine-exploding rollers.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And any infantry passengers.
From first-person-view drones.
The ‘elves’ quickly.
Nicknamed the do-it-yourself.
Assault vehicle.
A “turtle tank.”
After all.
Not all of.
The up-armored tanks.
Are equally crude.
Some wear truly.
Improvised armor made of.
Whatever scrap metal.
The crew could scrounge.
Others have add-on armor.
That’s obviously carefully.
Designed and installed.
—and may offer much better protection.
*Because I read “How To Blow Up Russia’s Turtle Tanks: Hit Them With Two Drones In A Row” by David Axe on 13 Jul 2024 on the Forbes, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022 on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem.
Please read the original story on the Forbes:
To Blow Up Russia’s Turtle Tanks, Hit Them With Two Drones In A Row (forbes.com)
**My friend kindly shows you this poem in one page of the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them! You can read my 100 poems here at once.
