The Russian army destroyed or captured 11 German-made Leopard tanks in Ukraine last week that had been supplied by the West to Ukrainian troops, Russia’s TASS news agency reported Tuesday.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the destruction or seizure of eight Leopard tanks on June 6 in the Donetsk region (east), and three more in the Zaporijia region (south) during a night offensive two days later.
According to TASS calculations, the total cost of tanks lost by Ukrainian forces could exceed $6.1 million (€5.6 million at current exchange rates).
The Russian agency also reported that some tanks were seized “in perfect working order”.
Russian troops said they also seized US main battle tanks from Bradley infantry.
The Russian Defense Ministry has released a video showing soldiers inspecting some of the equipment they say was captured during the battle.
“Some vehicles had their engines running, indicating (…) the flight of the combat vehicle crews of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”said the ministry, quoted by TASS.
This is the first time that the Russian army has announced the capture of this type of German and American weaponry in the war in Ukraine, which Moscow invaded on February 24, 2022.
Ukraine is on a counter-offensive after receiving new weapons from Western allies, including Leopards and Bradleys.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has warned that Germany will not be able to replace tanks damaged in fighting in Ukraine.
“We can’t replace all the tanks that no longer work”Pistorius told German television RTL on Monday evening, quoted by the French news agency AFP.
So far, Germany has delivered or promised Kiev 110 Leopard 1 tanks and 18 Leopard 2 main battle tanks.
Ukraine has asked Western allies to speed up the delivery of military equipment.
“Ukrainian army urgently needs much more Western main battle tanks, armored infantry fighting vehicles and other armored vehicles”Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrij Melnyk told the German daily Tagesspiegel on Monday.
Pistorius refused to confirm the authenticity of images of Leopard 2 tanks destroyed by Russia.
Unfortunately, “It is in the nature of war that guns and tanks are destroyed and men are killed. That is why our support for Ukraine is so important”just comment.
The information released by both sides about the course of the war cannot be directly verified by independent sources.
The conflict in Ukraine plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The number of civilian and military casualties is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, have admitted it will be high.
Source: DN
