T‑64BW tanks: Ukraine's aging giants hold ground in Toreck
Although the Russians have almost completely taken over the city of Toreck, the Ukrainians are endeavouring to maintain their hold in the suburbs and the mine area, facing significant numerical superiority. Often, Ukrainian soldiers are saved by the intervention of T-64BW tanks. We explain the reasons for their deployment and the performance of these machines.
After months of intense urban combat, the Russians have nearly captured all of Toreck, which was the main barrier to the capture of Kostiantynivka, one of the logistical hubs for the Ukrainians in the Donetsk region.
The video below illustrates a situation where soldiers from the 28th Mechanized Brigade were trapped in a building by Russians who used the morning fog to infiltrate Ukrainian positions. Unable to manage the more numerous Russians, they required assistance.
Drones proved ineffective, while artillery lacked precision and had excessive destructive power. Thus, a tank, likely a T-64BW, was dispatched to assist, accurately targeting the sections of the building occupied by the Russians, effectively aiding the Ukrainian soldiers inside.
T-64BW tanks - a unique USSR design after modernization as the core of Ukraine's armed forces
The backbone of the Ukrainian armoured forces before the war consisted of T-64 tanks developed by the Malyshev Factory in Kharkiv in the 1960s. It was an advanced design that proved too complex for the USSR, which opted to concentrate on simpler, more user-friendly T-72 tanks. Nonetheless, both tank models coexisted in USSR military service, but T-64s were not exported until the Soviet Union's collapse.
After the USSR disbanded, T-64s became essential in Ukrainian armoured units, owing to the factory's location in Kharkiv. Meanwhile, the Russians focused on enhancing locally produced tanks from the T-72 family.
Over the years, T-64 tanks have undergone numerous upgrades. Modernizations began in the 1980s and continued into the following decades. The base for the Ukrainians is the T-64BW variant, which evolved into the T-64BM Bulat, T-64BW 2017, T-64BM2 Bulat, and T-64BW 2022, produced in collaboration with Poland and the Czech Republic.
Old T-64BWs after modifications remain a formidable weapon
All these Ukrainian modernizations feature the installation of advanced reactive armour "Nozh," which outperforms older reactive armour versions, Kontakt-1 and Kontakt-5. The "Nozh" armour uses shaped charges instead of conventional ones, providing effective protection against single-charge warheads and APFSDS-T kinetic penetrators. It is conceivable that an impact on a T-64 tank with a kinetic penetrator in the upper part of the "Nozh" block could cause it to fragment.
Moreover, since 2017, T-64BW tanks have been outfitted with a fire control system equipped with a thermal imaging camera, giving their crew a marked advantage in identifying and engaging targets compared to all post-Soviet T-72 tank models below the B3 version.
There are even recordings where Ukrainian T-64BW tanks successfully engage newer Russian T-72B3/B3M models. However, it is essential to note that T-64BWs, even after enhancements, are outmatched by Russian T-90M tanks or Western-supplied tanks to Ukraine, such as the Leopard 2 or the M1A1 Abrams.
