Ukraine destroys Russian 'terminator on tracks' engineering vehicle in rare strike, military says
Ukrainian troops destroyed a Russian ІМР-3М engineering and obstacle clearing vehicle, the 412th Nemesis Separate Regiment reported on Sept. 21.
The rare strike marks only the third visually confirmed destruction of such a vehicle since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, with the last one documented more than a year ago.
The ІМР-3М, built on a T-90 tank chassis, is designed to clear mines, debris, and terrain obstacles for advancing motorized units. It is equipped with heavy armor, a dozer blade, a mine-plough, a telescopic crane, smoke-screen systems, and a machine gun.
With a crew of two, the vehicle can weigh up to 50.8 tons and travel 500 kilometers (310 miles) on roads at speeds up to 60 kilometers per hour (37 miles per hour).
According to the Ukrainian military, the vehicle was destroyed by munitions dropped from a drone.
Russia refers to the ІМР-3М as a "terminator on tracks," highlighting its protection against nuclear effects and its ability to navigate minefields independently, the military added.
The 412th Nemesis Separate Regiment is one of the flagship units of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, specializing in the deployment of first-person view (FPV) drones.
The strike underscores how Ukraine continues to use relatively inexpensive drones to destroy some of Russia's most costly military equipment.
On the same day, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported destroying three Russian Mi-8 helicopters and a radar station in occupied Crimea with drone strikes.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
