It’s a very old design found all over the world. We left the desert littered with them in the wake of the 90-91 war.
Did the Russians send it?
Likely but by no means certainly.
Actually, the tank the boffins identified was a T-72BM model. They have the Kontakt-5 Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) arrangement. Strictly only for use by Mother Russia, old boy.
The Ruskies may be vodka addicted, pelmeni guzzlers who unquestioningly follow an ageing wannabe porn model, but they, quite rightly, keep all their best military hardware for their own chaps.
Helps to read the article before commenting.