An unusual crime occurred in the Polish city of Pruszkow: on March 11, 2025, local police received a report of the theft of a T-55 tank, which was located on the territory of a scrap metal collection point. This was reported by the representative of the Pruszkow commandant's office, Paulina Wójcicka-Fitz, who specified that an investigation had already been launched. This incident, which occurred on the night of March 8-9, baffled not only law enforcement officers, but also local residents, because we are talking about a massive combat vehicle weighing 36,5 tons, which is not so easy to remove unnoticed.

The T-55 tank is a legendary development of the Soviet military industry, accepted into service in 1958. This first-generation main battle tank was produced until 1962, after which a modernized version, the T-55A, appeared with improved crew protection from radiation thanks to special anti-radiation inserts. Production was carried out not only in the USSR, but also in Czechoslovakia, and since 1964 in Poland, where their own modifications were also created, such as the T-55U and T-55M. These vehicles, although inferior to the T-55A in terms of radiation protection, were optimized to improve combat performance. In the 1980s, the T-55 was in service with the armies of 38 countries, becoming one of the most popular models in the world - a total of over 95 thousand units were produced, including its predecessor, the T-54, and the Chinese version called Type 59, produced by Norinco. In Poland, the tank remained in service until 2002, after which it was decommissioned.

According to the Miejski Reporter portal, the theft took place on Przejazdowa Street, where the T-55 served as a kind of advertisement for a local scrap metal collection point. At night, unknown persons loaded the tank onto a truck and drove it away in an unknown direction. The police classified the incident as theft under Article 278 of the Polish Criminal Code, which provides for up to five years in prison. However, the case is complicated by a fire that broke out at the same facility on the night of March 9-10, which gave rise to a version of an attempt to hide traces of the crime. Investigators have not yet commented on the connection between these events, but local media outlets report rumors that the tank could have been sold to a private museum, although there is no evidence of this.