Russia’s newest attack vehicle may simply be a pink Zhiguli, a Soviet-era compact car. Heading recently towards Ukrainian positions in Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine, what appeared to be two one-ton sedans, powered by a 1. 5-litre engine, were simple targets for Ukrainian drones.
“We are working clearly, methodically and ruthlessly,” the local Ukrainian command boasted after knocking out at least one of the Zhigulis and killing its occupants.
The car attack is just the latest in a series of attacks. Last week, a platoon- or corporation-sized Russian force assembled outside Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, just south of Luhansk, received at least seven cars and trucks and headed toward the Ukrainian line. One of the cars was flying an old Soviet flag.
The result did not surprise anyone. The attack was effectively repelled,” reported Officer, a popular Ukrainian army blogger. The car with the “rag” – the Soviet flag – “was the object of special attention. “
But the Russians attack so often along so many axes against undermanned Ukrainian positions that some of the assaults are bound to get across the mine-infested, artillery-blasted, drone-patrolled no-man’s-land. “By employing small, continuous assaults, Russian troops eventually expose and exploit weak points in Ukrainian defenses,” explained Tatarigami, the founder of Ukrainian analysis group Frontelligence Insight.
More and more of these assaults involve cars, trucks and vans. Having lost around 15,000 armored vehicles in the first 34 months of their wider war on Ukraine—far more purpose-made combat vehicles than sanctions-squeezed Russian industry can replace—Russian regiments and brigades are increasingly riding into battle in civilian vehicles.
Russian commanders knew a car shortage was coming. This fall, some regional commands began stockpiling cars, trucks and vans, reserving them for “a critical case,” according to Two Majors, a popular Russian military blog.
The critical case for the Lugansk regiments has arrived. Russian forces occupy most of the province and are determined to capture the rest in the coming months. “The command of the enemy army in the theater of operations until March 2025 will try to succeed on the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces,” the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies noted.
For lack of armored alternatives, some Russian troops are trying to reach those borders … in Zhigulis.
Sources:
1. OTU Lugansk
2. Tatarigami
3. Two specialties
4. Official
5. Center for Defense Strategies
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