The Daily Populous Thursday July 9th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by united24media.com and submitted by ArgentineBeauty

Russian troops abandoned a working T-72 tank on the battlefield during a retreat after it simply ran out of fuel, Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces reported on July 9.

The trophy tank was captured by soldiers of the 81st Separate Airmobile Slobozhanska Brigade without a single shot being fired.

We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field. DONATE NOW

According to Ukrainian paratroopers, the Russian crew fled the combat vehicle after it stalled while they were trying to escape a Ukrainian advance.

“This T-72 tank is special—it is a trophy. And our guys got it without firing a single shot. All because the fuel gauge in the Russian vehicle hit zero,” Ukraine’s Air Assault Forces said.

Captured Russian T-72 tank during modernization, July 2026. (Source: 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces) Captured Russian T-72 tank during modernization, July 2026. (Source: 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces)

After the tank was captured, Ukrainian forces evacuated it, refueled it, and sent it to the brigade’s repair unit. There, the vehicle was fully serviced and adapted for modern battlefield conditions.

The T-72 received additional anti-drone protection, its main systems were inspected and repaired, and its armor was reinforced to better protect the crew from FPV drones.

After modernization, the tank returned to service and is now carrying out combat missions in the Sloviansk direction—this time against its former owners.

“A little more anti-drone modernization from the paratrooper mechanics—and the tank went back into battle. But this time, it will fire in the right direction: at the occupiers,” the 7th Rapid Response Corps said.

Earlier this year, Ukrainian troops from the 92nd Assault Brigade captured a Russian T-80BVM main battle tank during combat operations.

The vehicle was seized after being disabled in battle and subsequently taken as a war trophy in cooperation with the brigade’s tank battalion. The unit released photographs showing the captured vehicle, a rare example of the Russian military’s most advanced T-80 variant currently deployed in Ukraine.

steve_ample on July 9th, 2026 at 13:02 UTC »

Which means that these tanks must be staged very close to their assigned battlefields before actual deployment. Meaning the UA side knows where to concentrate resources. Which also means RU doesn't have tactical flexibility on the battlefield - every detour takes away from their ability to accomplish their goals. And now they have to consider the risk-reward balance... how much fuel justifies putting a bigass tank on the field to win a battle vs losing a perfectly good tank over something like this. Nothing good on their end here.

Russia - of course - can choose to shorten their supply lines all the way back to Russia proper and GTFO of Ukraine.

As FYI, T72s consume 5-7 L of petrol per km in combat situations. How much fuel are they assigning to them per mission?

7ddlysuns on July 9th, 2026 at 12:52 UTC »

How very German army at the end of ww2

UpsyDowning on July 9th, 2026 at 12:44 UTC »

More evidence of long-range sanctions working…