‘Orcs’ up-armored.
“Turtle tanks”.
—armored vehicles with layers.
Of shell-like anti-drone armor—
Are, at their worst.
“Blind, loud and stupid”.
Owing to their extra weight.
And limited visibility.
At their best.
They’re a safer way for troops.
To cross the drone-patrolled.
No-man’s-land of.
No-man’s-land of.
The 800-mile front line.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war.
In Ukraine.
A turtle tank might be blind.
Loud and stupid.
But at least.
It’s better protected than.
Say, a compact car.
—increasing numbers of.
Which are appearing.
Along the front.
That explains why.
‘Elves’ brigades sometimes.
Create their own.
Turtle tanks.
The 24th Mechanized Brigade.
Holding positions.
Outside the ruins.
Of Chasiv Yar.
In eastern ‘elves’.
Donetsk Oblast.
Took at least one.
Tracked armored vehicle.
Added layers of armor.
And assigned it.
To ambulance duty.
The turtle ambulance starred.
In a dramatic video.
Shot by an ‘elves’ drone.
That was apparently escorting.
The cumbersome vehicle.
On a daytime.
Medical evacuation mission.
In Chasiv Yar.
On or before Saturday.
The vehicle rolled through ‘orcs’.
Drone and artillery bombardment.
To reach wounded troops.
Sheltering in the town’s rubble.
A turtle tank might be blind.
Loud and stupid.
But at least.
It’s better protected than.
Say, a compact car.
—increasing numbers of.
Which are appearing.
Along the front.
“At the evacuation point.
While waiting for the wounded.
A drone hit the machine.
Rocket and artillery shells.”
“Rocket and artillery shells.
Were constantly flying around.
But the soldiers stubbornly.
Continued to do their job.”
The 24th Mechanized Brigade reported.
“On the way back.
Our armor again withstood.
Multiple FPV drone hits.
“And was able to take.
The fighters to a safe place.
Where they received.
The necessary assistance!”
A turtle tank might be blind.
Loud and stupid.
But at least.
It’s better protected than.
Say, a compact car.
—increasing numbers of.
Which are appearing.
Along the front.
If a lack of mobility.
And visibility is.
A turtle tank’s weakness.
A turtle tank’s weakness.
The ability to withstand.
Multiple drone strikes.
Is its strength.
Is its strength.
When ‘orcs’ turtle tanks.
First appeared.
Along the front line.
Around a year ago.
Many ‘elves’ instinctively.
Laughed at the awkward vehicles.
One ‘elf’ blogger.
Refused to mock.
“Everyone laughs at the design.
Of their sheds.
But in fact.
They work like Hell.”
They wrote about.
The turtle tanks.
The turtle tanks.
As early as last April.
A turtle tank might be blind.
Loud and stupid.
But at least.
It’s better protected than.
Say, a compact car.
—increasing numbers of.
Which are appearing.
Along the front.
‘Orcs’ turtle tanks proved.
They could absorb.
“A lot of FPVs.”
The blogger noted.
Maybe not as many FPVs.
As the famed ‘elves’.
Leopard 1 tank that.
Thanks to its layers.
Thanks to its layers.
Of tightly fitted.
Explosive reactive armor.
And anti-drone screen.
Withstood at least.
Eight FPV strikes.
Before three more drones.
Immobilized it.
A turtle tank might be blind.
Loud and stupid.
But at least.
It’s better protected than.
Say, a compact car.
—increasing numbers of.
Which are appearing.
Along the front.
The difference, of course.
Is that a tank.
Can be up-armored.
Without consideration.
For its passenger capacity.
A turtle tank is.
Primarily a transport:
It has to have.
Plenty of room.
Under its shell.
For assault troops.
Or the wounded.
And it’s that capacity that.
In part, gives.
A turtle tank its bulk.
—and potentially blinds its driver.
A turtle tank might be blind.
Loud and stupid.
But at least.
It’s better protected than.
Say, a compact car.
—increasing numbers of.
Which are appearing.
Along the front.
Even with all that extra armor.
Every turtle tank sortie.
Across no-man’s-land.
Is risky.
The 24th Mechanized Brigade.
Acknowledged the danger.
Acknowledged the danger.
The brigade stated.
“The crews of armored vehicles.
Risk their lives.
Every day to save.
Their comrades.”
*Because I read “Ukraine’s Turtle Tank Ambulance Shrugged Off Multiple Drone Strikes” by David Axe on 10 Mar 2025 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:
Ukraine’s Turtle Ambulance Endured Drone Strikes To Save The Wounded
