Moment a Russian tank is blown up by Ukrainian missile fired from THREE MILES away – as new footage also shows one of Putin’s choppers being blasted out of the sky
- The Russian T-72 tank was obliterated by a Ukrainian Stugna guided missile
- Projectile took just 21 seconds to travel nearly three miles and destroy the target
- A separate clip showed a Russian attack helicopter being blown out of the sky
- The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) reported earlier today that the Russian military death toll had reached 21,000 personnel
- Putin’s forces have also reportedly lost hundreds of tanks, armoured vehicles and aircraft as Ukrainian fighters deploy their weaponry to great effect
This is the moment a Russian tank is blown to smithereens by a Ukrainian anti-tank guided missile fired from almost three miles away.
Footage obtained today from the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade – a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces – shows how the tank is caught in the missile system’s crosshairs before the projectile soars through the air and meets its target.
The brigade titled the video (in Ukrainian): ‘Stugna against T-72: attackers of the 128th brigade destroyed a Russian tank with a Ukrainian missile from a distance of 4.5 km’.
It comes as separate footage emerged of a Russian Ka-53 attack helicopter being blown out of the sky over Zaporizhzhia by another Ukrainian man-portable missile system.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) reported earlier today that the Russian military death toll had reached 21,000 personnel, with thousands of Putin’s tanks, armoured vehicles and helicopters also scuppered.
This is the moment a Russian tank is blown to smithereens by a Ukrainian anti-tank guided missile fired from almost three miles away (R). Footage obtained today from the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces shows how the tank is caught in the missile system’s crosshairs (L) before it is destroyed
The missile blew the Soviet era T-72 tank to pieces, adding to the huge losses already sustained by Putin’s armed forces (A man jumps from a Russian T-72 tank destroyed during Russia’s invasion, in the village of Yahidne, Ukraine April 20, 2022)
A Ukrainian service member stands next to a damaged Russian tank T-72 BV, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Donetsk region
The Stugna-P is a Ukrainian anti-tank guided missile system developed by the Luch Design Bureau, located in Kyiv.
It can attack from both long range – up to three miles in the daytime, depending on the type of missile – and close range – 100 yards.
The brigade said that it took the missile just 21 seconds to travel almost three miles before obliterating the invaders’ armour.
‘The missile from the Stugna anti-aircraft missile system flies at a speed of 200-220 metres per second, so the enemy tank was at a distance of about 4.5 kilometres,’ the brigade’s statement read.
‘(The tank) did not stand still, it moved, but this did not prevent the ATGM [anti-tank guided missile] operator from hitting him.’
The brigade added: ‘Neither the Swedish-British anti-tank complex NLAW, nor the American Javelin work at such long distances.
‘And our Stugna destroyed a moving tank 4.5 kilometres away.’
NLAWs have a typical maximum firing range of roughly half a mile (800-1000m), while the Javelin is effective at distances of over a mile (2-2.5km).
The brigade did not specify where in Ukraine the strike took place. However, fighting has recently been most intense along a 300-mile front in the country’s eastern Donbas region.
The T-72 referred to by the brigade is a family of Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1969.
They are currently operated by over 40 countries, including both Russia and Ukraine, though the latter has retired most in favour of the earlier T-64.
Meanwhile in Zaporizhzhia, drone footage showed a Russian attack helicopter blown out of the sky by a Ukrainian 9K38 Igla man portable air defence system (MANPADS).
The footage, shared by Ukrainian telegram channel Unian and later distributed on Twitter, showed the Russian Ka-53 hovering over farmland and lakes, before the missile streaked through the air and engulfed the chopper in a huge fireball
Ukrainian soldiers with (left to right) American “FIM-92 Stinger”, Soviet “Igla-1” and Polish “Piorun MANPADS” on a rooftop
The Igla, or ‘needle’, is a Soviet-era anti-aircraft missile launcher which was first deployed in the early 1980s, but has proven incredibly effective in Ukrainian hands against Russian choppers.
The footage, shared by Ukrainian telegram channel Unian and later distributed on Twitter, showed the Russian Ka-53 hovering over farmland and lakes, before the missile streaked through the air and engulfed the chopper in a huge fireball.
Though Russia’s armed forces outnumber their Ukrainian counterparts and have more equipment and machinery at their disposal, poor tactical decisions have been preyed upon by Ukrainian fighters, who have used their anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry to great effect.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) reported earlier today that the Russian military death toll had reached 21,000 personnel.
The AFU also informed that Russia had lost 829 main battle tanks, 2,118 armoured fighting vehicles, 393 artillery systems, 136 multiple rocket launchers, 67 air defence systems, 172 warplanes, 151 helicopters, 1,508 vehicles, eight vessels, 76 fuel tankers, 166 tactical drones, 27 units of special equipment and four tactical missile launchers.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is calling a ‘special military operation’ to ‘demilitarise and denazify’ the country.
The invasion is now in its 57th day, with Russia ‘most likely’ to intensify attacks in Ukraine before its 9th May Victory Day celebrations, according to UK intelligence.
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