A Ukrainian crew had a narrow escape from their Western-donated Leopard 2A6 tank, after Russian forces attacked them in eastern Ukraine, new footage appears to show.
Combat footage posted online, bearing the “Z” insignia associated with Russia’s armed forces, purportedly shows a Ukrainian-operated Leopard 2 tank, with soldiers scrambling to evacuate the burning vehicle. The video looks to have been filmed by an airborne drone, and open-source accounts have said it was at a location close to the embattled Donetsk town of Avdiivka.
Newsweek couldn’t independently verify the footage, and reached out to the Russian defense ministry and the Ukrainian military for comment via email.
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Russia has been using cheap unmanned aerial vehicles to locate Kyiv’s Leopard 2 tanks on the battlefield — something it has been doing successfully at an “accelerating rate,” Forbes reported on Monday. Moscow’s forces have managed to take out five Leopard tanks in about a week, the outlet reported on Saturday.
Ukraine lost 10 Leopard 2A6 tanks in the period up to the start of October, according to a tally by the Oryx intelligence outlet.
Footage circulating on social media in recent days appeared to show a Leopard 2A6 tank with a form of slat armor mounted on the sides of the turret. Social media accounts sharing the video claimed it belonged to Ukraine’s 47th Brigade deployed around Avdiivka.
In the footage of the damaged Leopard 2A6, what appear to be additional protective slats attached to the turret are visible. However, Newsweek wasn’t able to verify whether the reports showed the same vehicle, or one in a related operation, or where and when the clip was filmed.
Russia’s defense ministry didn’t mention Avdiivka in its latest update on Wednesday, but said it had taken out a German-made Leopard tank and two other tanks in the past 24 hours.
Elements of the 47th Brigade fought in the south of the war-torn country, focused on hotspots around the Zaporizhzhia village of Robotyne during the earlier part of Kyiv’s summer counteroffensive.
Ukraine’s government has previously published footage of fighters from the 47th Mechanized Brigade operating several Leopard 2A6s. “This brigade pushed through the Russian troops’ first line of defense near Robotyne,” the Ukrainian defense ministry said in mid-September.
“The advantages of this tank are, of course, its speed, accuracy and maneuverability,” one tank commander, with the call sign “Fortunate,” said in the footage published by Ukraine. “It’s precise.”
It isn’t clear when the 47th Mechanized Brigade was redeployed to Avdiivka, which emerged as the new flashpoint of clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces last month. One or two battalions from the 47th likely reinforced Ukraine’s position in Avdiivka in recent weeks, according to Forbes.
Russia is maintaining efforts to encircle the town, Ukraine’s General Staff said in an update on Wednesday. “Our warriors are steadily holding the defense and causing the enemy significant losses,” Kyiv’s military said, adding that Ukraine had recorded about 20 Russian attacks around Avdiivka in the previous 24 hours.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.