Sugar in the tank: Atesh's stealthy sabotage on Russian tech
Partisans from the Atesh resistance movement have announced a successful sabotage operation. This time, the efforts of the Ukrainians resulted in the removal of the Russian RP-377LA Lorandit electronic warfare system from operation. The method chosen to disable this valuable equipment has drawn significant attention.
A video appeared on the official Atesh profile on Telegram, showing Ukrainians pouring sugar into the fuel tank of the self-propelled RP-377LA Lorandit electronic warfare system. According to the video description, the efforts had the desired effect, and the Russian equipment was immobilized. The success of the operation was confirmed three days later by Ukrainian agents.
Ukrainians eliminated RP-377LA Lorandit
For those carrying out such an operation, an undeniable advantage is the ability to act quietly and retreat to safety. The scale and extent of the damage can depend on several factors. Pouring sugar into the tank carries the risk of damaging numerous components of the fuel system (such as the fuel filter or injectors in diesel engines), and even seizing the engine.
Atesh: A thorn in the side of the Russians
The Atesh partisan group was initially mainly focused on monitoring Russian movements in occupied Crimea. They frequently reported to the Ukrainian army (and later to the public) about Russian efforts related to the protection of the Crimean Bridge or the movement of equipment, such as at Saki Airport.
As a result of the Atesh agents' activities, it became possible to establish the locations of many improvised weapons depots of Putin's army, not only in occupied Crimea but also within Russian territory, where they are becoming more brazen. This confidence is corroborated by discovering depots containing KH-22 missiles in Leningrad Oblast. Members of the Atesh group also operate in Moscow and even around Putin’s palace in Sochi, where they located the Pantsir-S1 air defence system last year.
The RP-377LA Lorandit is not among the most modern electronic warfare systems used by the Russians, but the war in Ukraine demonstrates that this type of equipment is very valuable to both sides. The RP-377LA Lorandit is built on a UAZ-452 chassis. It operates at a frequency of 20-2000 MHz with a scanning speed of 65 MHz/s.
