BTRs collide in chaotic retreat from Ukrainian FPV drones
Currently, the heaviest fighting in the Donetsk region is occurring in the Pokrovsk direction, where some quite interesting incidents occur. One such incident involves Russian BTRs ramming into each other while fleeing from FPV drones. We explain how this happened and what scared the Russians so much.
In the video below, you can see a fleeing BTR armoured personnel carrier deploying a smoke screen. This vehicle collided with another one, likely from a different assault group. Subsequently, both vehicles involved in the collision and a third one in the background were hit by a swarm of Ukrainian FPV drones with attached PG-7VL grenades. These grenades, belonging to the 68th Jager Brigade, are capable of penetrating even 50 centimetres of armour steel.
BTR-82A armoured personnel carriers — the basic taxi of Russian infantry
The video shows three BTR-family carriers, at least two of which are the latest BTR-82A equipped with an unmanned turret and a 30 mm 2A72 autocannon. This is a formidable weapon, but the Russians have significant problems with barrel or ammunition quality. At one of the official shows, they had trouble hitting an old M113 from 100 metres away.
This BTR variant has been produced since 2011 and represents a major modernization of the BTR-80 carrier, as the BTR-90 turned out to be too complicated and too expensive. Apart from the mentioned turret with stronger armament, the BTR-82A features a more powerful engine with 300 hp.
Meanwhile, the armour of this eight-wheeled armoured personnel carrier is only made of armour steel (less than a centimetre thick) and theoretically should be lined with Kevlar on the inside. However, we did not notice any lining while inspecting the wreck during the MSPO 2023 fair. The armour only protects artillery fragments and small-arms fire. For instance, a FN FAL rifle loaded with armour-piercing ammunition with a tungsten core will penetrate it without any problem at close range.
The BTR-82A has a three-member crew and can carry seven infantry soldiers. However, it is worth noting that due to the losses suffered by the Russians, BTR-82A carriers are becoming increasingly rare and are being replaced by older models such as BTR-60/70 or even BTR-50. However, this is not the end because the Russians can even use motorcycles for assaults, as well as Chinese golf carts and other civilian vehicles.
