Moscow has repeatedly reported knocking out Leopard-type armor supplied to Ukrainian forces by West
The Russian Defense Ministry has reported its forces destroyed a German-made Leopard tank supplied to Kiev. On top of multiple pieces of military hardware lost over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military has also suffered up to 1,970 casualties, according to military officials in Moscow.
The German government announced plans in January 2023 to deliver various iterations of Leopard-type tanks to Ukraine, the first pieces of hardware arriving there a few months later. Apart from Germany, several other nations, including Norway, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, and Poland, have supplied their Leopards to Kiev. The Russian military has repeatedly reported the destruction of such vehicles.
According to a ministry statement on Monday, the German-made armor was hit during fighting that involved Russia’s Zapad (West) combat group, a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier and a М198 howitzer.
Two more M113 armored personnel carriers were destroyed by Russia’s Yug (South) combat group, as well as at least three US-made М777 howitzers and a radar, according to the Defense Ministry report.
In addition, a considerable number of Soviet-designed artillery systems and other vehicles operated by the Ukrainian military were also taken, Moscow said.
On Sunday, drone footage emerged on social media supposedly depicting the destruction of an M777 howitzer by a Russian kamikaze UAV in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region.
Back in January, Foreign Affairs magazine estimated that “of the fewer than 100 Leopard 2s in Ukrainian service, at least 26 have been knocked out; others cannot be used due to repair and maintenance issues.” The media outlet added that Kiev lacked the “extensive support infrastructure” needed to maintain the German-made hardware.
Since then, the Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly reported the destruction of this type of armor supplied to Ukrainian forces.
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