Drone footage of a Ukrainian M113 YPR-765 armored personnel carrier (APC) rotating troops while under fire. The APC approaches the end of what is presumably a friendly trench. The ramp drops and soldiers exit the vehicle and enter the trench as other soldiers leave the trench and hop in the vehicle. It appears that some of soldiers leaving the trench are injures and must be assisted into the APC. While the troop rotation is underway, the vehicle crew fires bursts of covering fire from the vehicle’s primary weapon. The M113 is a workhorse infantry carrier that first entered service in the U.S. Army in the early 1960s and has seen consistent service worldwide since. In 1975, the Dutch military ordered 889 improved variants of the M113, the YPR-765, which featured a one-man turret sporting a 25mm Oerlikon autocannon, an upgrade from the .50 cal Browning previously employed. Ukrainian has received 196 YPR-765s since 2022, of which at least sixty have been destroyed, damaged, abandoned, or captured.

About the Author

Cam

Cam served as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps, deploying to the Horn of Africa and participating in combat operations in Iraq. He currently works in the maritime industry and in the defense sector as an instructor of combined arms planning and operations. An avid sailor, Cam founded and directs Triumph Sailing, a nonprofit that supports veterans and first responders through adventure and fellowship on the water. Triumph Sailing just completed its big yearly event, an offshore race in the Gulf of Mexico with an all veteran crew. You can support the mission and next year's sailing season at Tri-Sail.Org.