Russian media are publishing footage of a German-made Ukrainian Leopard 2A6 taken to the Russian rear for further examination (updated April 23, 2024, at 10:16 a.m.).
The Leopard 2 is a third-generation German main battle tank (MBT) from a tank manufacturer known for producing powerful, technologically advanced and highly functional military vehicles. All Leopard 2 series tanks can be technically upgraded to the Leopard 2A6 level. American military magazines consider this model to be the best of all modern MBTs in terms of firepower, armour and mobility.
According to the official website of the German federal government, the country has transferred 18 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Kyiv.
Footage surfaced on social media showing one of such tanks being transported to Russian scientists for further study.
Previously, Russian media published the same Leopard 2A6 being evacuated to rear positions:
Russian media also shared a picture of a tank of the same modification hit at Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia.
The New York Times reported that over the past two months, Russian forces disabled five of the 31 US-made M1 Abrams tanks that the Pentagon had sent to Ukraine last autumn. At least three more tanks suffered moderate damage since being deployed to the front lines earlier this year, Colonel Markus Reisner claimed.
“Welcome to the 21st century — it’s unbelievable, actually.”
This is just a fraction of the 796 Ukrainian main battle tanks that have been destroyed, captured or abandoned since the outbreak of the war in February 2022, according to Oryx, a military analysis website that counts casualties based on visual evidence.
German Leopard tanks have also been attacked in Ukraine. At least 30 of them have been destroyed, The New York Times reports. The fact that the tanks are more easily destroyed by cheap exploding drones than some officials and experts initially thought shows “yet another way the conflict in Ukraine is reshaping the very nature of modern warfare,” Can Kasapoglu, a defence analyst at the Hudson Institute in Washington, argues.
Depending on their size and technological sophistication, Russian first-person view (FPV) drones costing about as little as $500 can destroy a $10-million Abrams tank, with some of them able to “carry munitions to boost the impact of their blast,” according to The New York Times.
In February, Russian media also reported the seizure of an American M2 Bradley armoured infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) from the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU). Then pictures of the seizure of a German Marder IFV for transfer to military specialists appeared in late March.
However, despite all the losses to the Ukrainian Army, the United States has managed to negotiate financial aid. Ukrainian authorities lay great expectations on the aid package of about $60 billion, recently approved by the US Congress after a long period of stalemate.
According to the New York Times, significant amount will be allocated to replenish US defence stocks, with some billions going to the purchase of US defence systems, which Ukrainian officials claim are desperately needed.
US officials did not specify what weapons the United States would send to Kyiv as part of the package, but Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder reported on Thursday that more air defence and artillery ammunition would likely be included.
