Images from Ukraine: Graveyards of Russian war machines show the scale of Putin’s failure to seize Kyiv

Reports from Ukraine: This feature is part of an original Milwaukee Independent editorial series that recorded news from cities across Ukraine, including Milwaukee's sister city of Irpin, in May 2022. It was the first and, at that time, only news organization in Wisconsin that traveled to the country since it was invaded. The purpose of this journalism project was to document personal stories and events that detailed or showed the conditions of the war at that time, and their connections to Milwaukee. mkeind.com/reportsfromukraine

By the end of May, Russian forces had already lost an estimated 31,000 troops in Ukraine. That three month total was half of the American casualties in Vietnam over a decade, and double Soviet losses in Afghanistan over eight years. The extent of the loss and carnage could be seen at military junkyards in Irpin and Bucha.

After weeks of war, much of the destroyed relics of Russia’s failed invasion of Kyiv had been cleared away – even as Russia continued its bloody campaign in Eastern Ukraine. Destroyed tanks and armored troop vehicles were taken to makeshift junkyards. The burnt and rusted hulks showed the scale and insanity behind Putin’s poorly planned invasion.

Yet many of the Russian losses remain scattered across the Ukrainian countryside. The shattered wreckage served as evidence of the effective counteroffensive that not only stopped the Russian drive to capture Kyiv, but drove the inept Russian military out of the region.

It has been estimated that Russia lost between 1,000 and 1,500 tanks, along with more than 3,000 armored vehicles. Several hundred tanks were abandoned or captured in the early days of the invasion, due to inadequate Russian intelligence and a lack of professional training. Amateur videos went viral across social media, showing farmers towing tanks and armored vehicles with their tractors across fields.

The invasion also exposed a fundamental design flaw in Russian tanks, specifically its most widely used T-72. The results of the “Jack-in-the-Box” flaw could be seen in the condition of the wreckage, with tank turrets blown off.

The T-72’s ammunition system is placed within a ring around the turret. The design optimizes storage of shells and allows ammunition to be loaded and fired faster by tank operators. But it also means that if a tank is hit from the top where the armor is thinner, the blast is fatal. A chain reaction can instantly vaporize a crew, as the ring explodes and pops the turret off the hull like a champaign cork.

Many Russian tanks also appear to be plated with bricks, which are reactive armor designed to absorb the impact of artillery. But against anti-tank weapons like the Javelin, supplied by the United States, the T-72 is effectively defenseless. The shoulder fired rockets contain two warheads, the first blows away the external reactive armor, while the second penetrates underneath into the hull.

Despite being outnumbered 5-to-1, and in some cases 10-to-1, the Ukrainian Army showed the ineffectiveness of the Russian military. The catastrophic losses, however, did not deter Russia’s dictator. Instead of fighting Ukraine’s military, Putin directed his forces to commit war crimes by specifically targeting civilian populations. Unable to win on the battlefield, the Russian tactic switched to a brutal genocide.

Along with the military graveyards are vast areas of garbage, but not from the disposal of consumer products. Piles of shatter windows, broken appliances, and every element that had once been homes had been cleared away. They served as a reminder of the vast devastation brought to cities like Irpin, Borodyanka, Bucha, Zdvyzhivka, and others, as the Russian military targeted civilian homes.

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