35 UKRAINIAN ARMY T-64 TANKS BROKE DOWN AFTER FEW DAYS ON FIRING GROUND

A Ukrainian T-64 © SPUTNIK/ STRINGER

In September, 35 Ukrainian T-64 tanks broke down on a firing ground near Melitopol. After working for a few hours, the tanks started losing power, with their engines repeatedly cutting out. At first 21 tanks failed, with 14 more failing in a few days. According to the command, the tanks were equipped with brand new engines, with no more than 3-4 hours of working time. The failures were reasoned out to be because of the faulty fuel.

Ukrainian journalist Taras Zhovtenko investigated the incident. According to him, a special committee, created to investigate the tanks, received three engines of the failed T-64s. The committee reported that the engines were anything but new, with metal corroded, a lot of dust residue and other evidence of long use. The oil waste from the engines contained dirt, metal, and traces of fuel. This couldn’t have happened to a brand new engine.

The real age of the engines was not announced. The committee declared that tanks engines failed due to poor storage conditions and improper depreservation.

This isn’t the first time this happened to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to Zhovtenko, Major General Yuri Melnik, who ordered the committee to stop investigating the faulty engines after two out of three had been inspected, was incriminated in using old and faulty tank engines under the guise of brand new ones back in July of this year. In 2015, Melnik and his accomplices intentionally bought faulty and old T-72 engines for the price of new ones. His machinations landed him a nifty profit of more than $1 million.

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