The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video showing its forces using precision-guided ammunition to take down several Ukrainian Leopard 2 tanks.
"In the direction of Svatovo, members of the Ukrainian armed forces prepared to attack the positions of the Russian army with an armored platoon with Leopard 2 tanks near the village of Terny," the Russian Defense Ministry announced on January 2. "Servicemen of the Russian Zapad wing knocked out the Ukrainian tank platoon with high-precision ammunition."
Video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on the same day showed bullets hitting Leopard 2s that appeared to be stationary on open ground and setting them on fire.
It is not clear what type of weapon the Russian soldiers used and how many Leopard 2 tanks were destroyed in the attack. According to NATO and Russian military, each tank platoon owns four of these combat vehicles.
Russian guided missiles hit a Ukrainian Leopard 2 tank on January 2. Video: Russian Ministry of Defense
"The biggest drawback of Western military equipment, especially Leopard tanks, is that they are very large and heavy, and easily get bogged down on dirt roads. They get stuck in them and become easy targets," said a Russian tank company commander.
"Western military vehicles are quite easy to penetrate or destroy. They do not live up to what the West praises them for," said the Russian company commander.
The Leopard 2 is a third-generation main battle tank developed in the 1970s for the West German army, entering service in 1979. Germany built more than 3,600 Leopard 2 tanks, with a variety of variants in service with the German army and 13 European countries, as well as many countries outside the region.
The Leopard 2 tank weighs 62 tons and is nearly 10 meters long, has a maximum speed of 72 km/h, is equipped with a 120 mm cannon, and is capable of penetrating steel armor more than half a meter thick at a distance of 2.4 km.
NATO has so far delivered to Ukraine a total of 70 Leopard 2 tanks, including the most modern Leopard 2A6 version with significantly enhanced protection capabilities, thanks to the use of new-generation composite armor and the addition of explosive reactive armor modules.
Location of Terny village, Donetsk region. Graphics: RYV
Ukraine deployed units with Leopard 2 tanks to attack Russian defenses in a large-scale counteroffensive. However, Ukraine lost many Leopard 2s trying to break through dense minefields and fortified Russian fortifications.
Ukrainian forces defending the east have recently deployed Leopard 2 tanks in fortifications, acting as long-range artillery rather than as spearheads. The way Ukraine uses these tanks, which cost about $10 million, is similar to the tactics Russia uses with T-55s and T-62s, tanks that are more than 60 years old, turning them into "mobile artillery platforms" on the battlefield.
Nguyen Tien (According to RIA Novosti, AFP )
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