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Ukraine destroys Russian 'terminator on tracks' engineering vehicle in rare strike, military says

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Ukraine destroys Russian 'terminator on tracks' engineering vehicle in rare strike, military says
A Russian ІМР-3М vehicle on display (YouTube)

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.

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Purported footage showing the Ukrainian destruction of a Russian IMR-3M engineering clearance vehicle. Footage released on Sept. 21, 2025. (412th Nemesis Separate Regiment/Telegram)

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.

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Tim Zadorozhnyy

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Tim Zadorozhnyy is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering foreign policy, U.S.-Ukraine relations, and political developments across Europe and Russia. He studied International Relations and European Studies at Lazarski University and Coventry University. Tim began his journalism career in Odesa in 2022 as a reporter for a local television channel. He later spent a year and a half at the Belarusian independent media outlet NEXTA, first as a news anchor and later as a managing editor. He is fluent in English, Ukrainian, and Russian.

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