An explosion in the sky: A streak of flame, accompanied by clouds of smoke, can be seen on the ground from a distance. Soldiers stand in the middle of a wasteland and cheer at the top of their lungs. According to the army, the video posted on Facebook by the Ukrainian armed forces on Monday shows a German-made Gepard anti-aircraft tank shooting down a Russian cruise missile.
“Material provided by partners protects Ukrainian airspace from the terrorists’ cruise missiles,” Facebook said. “This time it’s an impeccable job from the German cheetah. Thank you, Germany.”
Russia fires nearly 70 missiles
The authenticity of the video has not yet been independently confirmed, the “world” writes. On Monday there was an air raid alarm throughout Ukraine. The Russians attacked Ukraine with dozens of missiles. The Ukrainian air defense speaks of nearly 70 cruise missiles deployed on Monday. A large part of them – more than 60 pieces – could be repelled.
For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (44), this is “concrete proof that terrorism can be defeated”. He says this in his daily video speech. However, it is still unclear whether the published video of Monday’s refueling operation was recorded during the attacks.
The cheetah – the fastest of its kind
The Ukraine has already received 30 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks from the stocks of the manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. And another delivery is on its way: The federal government announced on Friday it would send seven more cheetahs to Ukraine. According to “Spiegel”, these are the last models of the weapon system from industrial stocks. It was actually supposed to destroy them. Since the start of the war, Germany has supplied Ukraine with nearly two billion euros in arms and equipment.
The cheetah is a particularly powerful model: it is considered the fastest weapon system of its kind. The tower with its two guns rotates completely around its own axis in 2.5 seconds. It usually takes less than four seconds between detecting and engaging an enemy. (treasure)