Ukraine lost several infantry fighting vehicles and a tank in a single clash, according to clips on social media
© Military Media – Armia Z / Telegram
A Ukrainian armored group, including at least four US-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, has been destroyed, according to a video circulating on social media, which could not be independently verified.
On Saturday, several Telegram channels shared an undated 12-second clip showing a Russian tank driving past an alleged “graveyard” of Ukrainian heavy military equipment. The video was purportedly filmed near the settlement of Rabotino in Russia’s Zaporozhye Region, some 50km east of the Dnepr River.
The video features what appears to be a tightly packed group of four heavily damaged and abandoned Bradleys on flat terrain, with another vehicle – apparently a crippled Ukrainian Soviet-designed tank – visible in the distance. It is unclear how exactly the armored group was destroyed.
According to the Pentagon, the US has supplied Ukraine with almost 200 Bradleys that were meant to bolster Kiev’s much-hyped counteroffensive against Russia, which Moscow says has so far failed to gain any ground.
Several Western media reports have suggested that Ukraine has suffered significant armor losses during the push, with Business Insider reporting last week that at least 34 Bradleys “have now been visually confirmed as having been abandoned, damaged or destroyed”.
READ MORE: ‘Anime-loving fighters’ capture US-made Bradley vehicle
On Thursday the Washington Post reported, citing sources, that about a dozen Bradleys had been destroyed beyond repair, with many others sustaining varying degrees of damage. However, Ukrainian service members’ repair efforts were said to be hampered by a lack of spare parts, which led to some Bradleys being cannibalized and sent to neighboring Poland for more extensive repairs.
Last week another video went viral on social media showing Russian soldiers standing in front of a captured Bradley, with some service members thanking Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for the ”gift.” Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that Moscow’s specialists could inspect the captured weaponry to delve into Western know-how.
Last week, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu estimated Ukraine’s losses since the start of the counteroffensive in June at about 3,000 pieces of military equipment and tens of thousands of service members.
