The Russian definition of the words: "Critical Hit"

Pigeon_of_War: Well, critical damage can cause damage also, but only if the hull is damaged. Damaging the gun, tracks, optics, etc does not necessarily directly damage the hull or turret of the tank, which is where the hit points of the tank are calculated. Now, if all of the crew is knocked out and the tanks hull and turret still have hit points, this also counts as knocking out the tank since no one is left to operate the tank.