Ukrainian soldiers sing the
praises of Australia’s Bushmasters and call for more to fend off the brutal
Russian invasion of their country.
The 19 surviving troopships
are in constant action and under heavy fire in eastern Ukraine as the soldiers
lucky enough to pilot them label them as lifesavers.
In late May, images surfaced
showing the burnt-out wreckage of a Bushmaster sitting on an empty field on the
Donetsk-Luhansk border in eastern Ukraine.
A Ukrainian unit commander has
now confirmed that a Bushmaster has been destroyed near the village of
Trypillia, but everyone in the bombed vehicle survived.
Vitaly, who drives and
commands another Bushmaster, told the… Sydney Morning Herald he was
part of the battle and saw what happened.
“I was there, I saw Bushmaster
go in for the first time, bring the boys back and go in a second time. And then
it got hit,” Unit Commander Vitaly told the Sydney Morning Herald†
“It’s armored inside and
that’s a big plus for this vehicle as it protects the safety and health of the
soldiers inside.
“If we had more of these types
of vehicles, we would save more lives – and the lives of our soldiers are the
most important thing.”
This wreckage of a combat
vehicle in eastern Ukraine was identified by Ukraine Weapons Tracker as one of
20 Bushmaster vehicles donated by the Australian government.
It’s not just the Bushmasters’
safety that makes the vehicle popular with Ukrainian defenders compared to
their Soviet-era troop transports.
“First of all, it’s very
comfortable,” Vitaly said. “It has air conditioning; it is like a house on
wheels. I would have lived inside. I stay in it all the time.”
Nicknamed ‘The Bushy’, the
Bushmaster is an 11-ton armored military vehicle built in the Victorian town of
Bendigo and designed to deploy up to 10 soldiers on the battlefield.
The 20 vehicles sent to
Ukraine were converted for service after being “equipped” after extensive
service in Afghanistan and emergency relief zones.
They were repainted olive
green with the flag of Ukraine on each side.
