Footage allegedly shows a Leopard armored vehicle painted with the ‘Balkenkreuz’ symbol used by the Wehrmacht
© @ian_matveev / Twitter
A video has emerged online purportedly showing a German-made Leopard tank with a Nazi emblem being used by Ukrainian forces in the conflict against Russia.
The short clip has been circulating since Monday on several pro-Ukrainian accounts. According to the description, it shows the German-produced tank engaged in combat somewhere in Zaporozhye Region, a contested former part of Ukraine. The tank can be seen firing its main gun and deploying a smoke screen.
The tank’s operators have apparently modified it by painting a ‘Balkenkreuz’ on the turret. Different versions of the symbol, also known as the ‘beam cross’, were used by Nazi German forces between the mid-1930s and the end of World War II.
The insignia was retired after the Nazis were defeated, and the German military currently uses the differently-shaped Iron Cross to identify its hardware.
Leopard 2A6 ведет бой на Запорожском фронте pic.twitter.com/vdvVWsb8QV
— IanMatveev (@ian_matveev) June 12, 2023
Ukraine launched its long-expected counteroffensive against Russian troops last week, although its forces met with serious resistance, according to Moscow and several Western media outlets.
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The Russian military claims to have destroyed a number of Western-supplied tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, which were intended to give Ukraine the advantage on the battlefield. On Saturday alone, Kiev lost four Leopard tanks among dozens of military vehicles, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
