Russians apparently destroy the Ukrainians’ first Leopard 2 The most active volcanoes in the Philippines are rumbling – people evacuate on Mayon

The Ukrainian army has apparently suffered the first loss of a Leopard 2 – and in one of the German-made main battle tank’s first known operations against the Russian occupiers. Kiev has not yet confirmed the alleged shooting in the Zaporizhia region. Several Western military experts believe a drone video released by Russia on Wednesday is real.

The footage shows a motorcade of at least 12 Ukrainian vehicles on a dirt road in the southern Ukrainian region; the column’s position has since been independently confirmed. The vehicle group consisted of US-designed M113 armored personnel carriers and at least three Leopard 2 tanks. You can then see how the Ukrainians come under Russian artillery fire.

Probably a Leopard 2 of the A4 variant

The ammunition rack of one of the Leopard 2s appears to have been hit, and shortly afterwards high flames read from the rear of the tank. The video does not show whether the crew survived the attack. That could be because the Leopard 2 is designed in such a way that the heat is dissipated to the outside when the ammunition hits.

The independent researchers of the Oryx project consider the loss of the tank proven. According to the Dutch experts, it was a Leopard 2 variant A4.

This variant had been supplied to the Ukrainian army mainly by Poland, Canada and Spain. Germany sent 18 copies of the more modern A6 version, some of which Portugal had also promised. The “Panzer 122” supplied by Sweden is equivalent to the Leopard 2A5. It is not known how many Leopard 2s Ukraine was able to act for its summer offensive; the target was two battalions, each with 31 main battle tanks of the type.

Ukraine is on the offensive

For several days now, there have been increasing indications that the Ukrainian offensive is gaining momentum. In many places along the approximately 1,500 kilometer long front, the fighting intensified. This is evident from reports by Russian war bloggers. The Ukrainians, on the other hand, are very reluctant to provide information in order to keep the occupiers in the dark as much as possible.

The current advance in the Zaporizhia region, in which the Leopard 2 was lost, could have been a test attack by the Ukrainians. Individual formations advance to test the defense lines of the Russian army and reconnoitre hidden artillery positions. The loss of individual vehicles is probably unavoidable in such test raids.

It is not yet clear where the Ukrainian army will concentrate its main forces. However, a major goal of the Ukrainian offensive is likely to drive a wedge into Russian-held territory in the south of the country, thereby cutting the land link between the Crimean peninsula and Russian territory.