Russian Tanks Fortified with Sandbags, Pig Heads Prompt ‘Mad Max’ Jibes

Images of Russian tanks in Ukraine with some unusual additions have prompted jibes from social users and comparisons to scenes from a famous dystopian film.

The Telegram channel of pro-Russian military blogger Voenniy Osvedomitel (Military Informant) posted an image of what it said was a T-80BV tank with a serviceman sitting on in front of the main gun, looking away from the camera.

Sandbags were on the sides of the tank by the turret while what appeared to be pigs heads were fixed on metal pins on both sides of the vehicle’s hull.

The tank had been “generously littered with various pieces of rubbish to give additional armor to protect it from attack copters and FPV drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” added the post.

The unverified image from an undisclosed location was posted on Sunday and as of Tuesday had received more than 347,000 views, as well as sparking a lively discussion in the comments section.

“This is some kind of Mad Max,” wrote one user, referencing the 1979 film starring Mel Gibson as a police-officer-turned vigilante in a near-future Australia during the collapse of society.

“T-80 Mad Max edition,” commented another. Other users thought it looked more like something from the Warhammer fantasy game, although some noted that the tableau displayed a certain “savagery.”

Russia has lost 104 T-80 BVMs since the start of the war in Ukraine, according to Oryx, an open-source website that tracks losses on both sides.

A “Mad Max” comparison was also made by another social media user for a different set of Russian vehicles whose images were posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the account of Challenger Tank in Ukraine, which writes about the war.

“This isn’t a scene from Mad Max! It’s the Russian Army. 5 Russian T-62M and a BTS-4. May they all perish quickly!” said the post, next to images of Russian vehicles covered in cages supposedly to help protect them against drones. Newsweek has contacted the Russian foreign ministry for comment.

The image comes as Ukraine continues its counteroffensive that started around June 4, aiming to recapture Russian-occupied territory. Ukraine’s Air Force said on Tuesday that it had managed to intercept 27 out of the 36 kamikaze drones fired overnight by Russian forces in the Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson oblasts.

Ukrainian authorities also said on Tuesday that Russian multi-weapon attacks in 10 regions killed one civilian and wounded another 11 over the past 24 hours.

An attack on Odesa Oblast lasted for three hours, with transport infrastructure hit but no casualties, Governor Oleh Kiper reported.