Video Shows Ukrainian Drones Destroy Russian Tanks
A new video shows the moment Ukrainian drones destroys four Russian tanks and nine armored vehicles at an unspecified region in Ukraine.
The fiery explosion also killed 21 Russian soldiers, according to a Saturday Telegram post from the Ukrainian Security Service that contained the video. Though the footage is low-quality and mostly black-and-white, viewers can still make out munitions being dropped and explosions.
The footage of the drone strikes comes amid a series of setbacks for Russia. On Friday, Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Kyiv was finalizing preparations for a concerted pushback as questions were being raised about Russian military supplies and morale. Russia, which launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has been struggling to get supplies of weapons and ammunition to the front line for months.
In addition to being posted on Telegram by the Ukrainian Security Service, the video of drones taking out tanks was also shared on Twitter by Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, who wrote: "UAVs from Ukrainian SBU Alpha dropping munitions on Russian vehicles and positions. They say they destroyed 4 T-72 and T-90 tanks, 9 BMPs, a BTR, MT-LB, Ural truck, and three strong points."
Destroyed military vehicles of the Russian army lie on a road on April 4, 2022 in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Russia launched a large-scale invasion over Ukraine on February 24, 2022. An April 30, 2023 video shows the moment Ukranian drones destroys four Russian tank and nine armored vehicles at an unspecified region in Ukraine. Oleksandr Hryvul/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images
The clip, which shows the blast as well as color snapshots of the tanks and buildings prior to the strike, is set to fast-tempo music. At one point, it zooms in on what appears to be a soldier on a roof before panning out to show a drone strike on the building where the person was sitting.
Video of UAVs from Ukrainian SBU Alpha dropping munitions on Russian vehicles and positions. They say they destroyed 4 T-72 and T-90 tanks, 9 BMPs, a BTR, MT-LB, Ural truck, and three strong points. https://t.co/gnFCRgwtE7 pic.twitter.com/H2CPpL8Kgg — Rob Lee (@RALee85) April 29, 2023
A Twitter account specializing in Ukrainian weapons, @UAWeapons, also shared the viral video.
"#Ukraine: A Russian T-90S tank was destroyed by the SBU 'Alpha' SSO using munitions dropped from a drone equipped with thermal optics," UAWeapons tweeted.
#Ukraine: A Russian T-90S tank was destroyed by the SBU "Alpha" SSO using munitions dropped from a drone equipped with thermal optics.
A quantity of T-90S tanks, originally intended for export, was instead transferred to the Russian army to partly compensate of losses in armor. pic.twitter.com/0wApHnXlxv — 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 29, 2023
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
Despite its recent battlefield struggles, Russia launched a devastating series of missile attacks on Friday morning that struck multiple civilian targets within Ukraine, part of Moscow's uptick in aerial assaults. At least 25 people were killed, including five children.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attacks on civilians in a video shared on Twitter, accusing Russia of "absolute evil" for targeting the "absolutely peaceful" city of Uman. Zelensky also said that Ukraine had shot down 21 of 23 Russian missiles.
Last week, another Ukranian drone captured video of multiple explosions on a Russian-occupied building in Bakhmut, a city that continues to be the site of fierce combat. As seen in that video, Ukraine has started using American-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) with its bombs and are using their limited supply to fire at Russian troops without experiencing close combat.
Source: Newsweek
