Russians abandon entire tank regiment to escape from Krynky area

Russians abandon entire tank regiment to escape from Krynky area

The Russians engaged the 17th Tank Regiment to evacuate the damaged Russian vehicles from the Krynky area. The fact that a whole tank regiment was ordered an evacuation mission indicates huge Russian losses.
Forbes writes that in mid-2023 the Kremlin organized a new field army around the 70th Mechanized Division by combining three mechanized regiments – the 24th, 26th and 28th – with an artillery brigade and the 17th Tank Regiment.
A couple of months later in September, the new 18th Combined Arms Army deployed to the front line on the left bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine’s Kherson Region. It was just in time to meet the Ukrainian 35th Marine Brigade as it motored across the Dnipro and secured a bridgehead in Krynky on the Russian-controlled left bank.
Now the 17th Tank Regiment is responsible for the evacuation of dozens of vehicles lost by the Russians during unsuccessful attempts to knock out Ukrainian marines from Krynky.
"The 17th Tank Regiment of the 70th Motorized Rifle Division has been trying for two weeks to evacuate damaged and inoperable armored vehicles from the active combat zone in the Krynky area," the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies noted.
This evacuation effort involves both regular repair and evacuation units and the 2nd Tank Battalion of the regiment. While dedicated armored recovery vehicles with their cranes and winches might be the best means of towing disabled vehicles. A tank can tow and defend itself if necessary.
"That a whole tank regiment with potentially tens of T-90 tanks apparently is dedicated to the recovery task speaks to the intensity of Russian losses around Krynky," the article reads.
In three months of unsuccessful counterattacks through the Ukrainian drone and artillery destruction zones, as well as through the mines that the drones drop at night, the 18th Combined Arms Army and other formations in the Kherson region lost at least 163 military vehicles.
Ukrainian forces lost only 33 vehicles, mostly on the Dnipro’s right bank.