Russian armored vehicle blunder leads to Ukrainian capture

In a recording published by Ukrainians, a speeding BTR-82A carrier can be seen heading straight toward the Ukrainian tanks.

The Russians, for unknown reasons, approached the Ukrainians to within a few dozen yards. A shot was fired. The carrier stops, and Russians begin to emerge from the burning vehicle.

The tank belongs to the 225th Separate Assault Battalion, which is fighting in the Kursk region, and the carrier was part of the 810th Naval Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces.

"Perhaps the Russian marines mistook our tank for a Russian one, which explains their foolish act," comments Andriy Tsapilenko, a Ukrainian war correspondent.

The absurd behavior of the Russians is also being discussed by propaganda channels in the Kremlin.

As "Military Observer" writes, this situation again "highlights the recently raised issue of the lack of standard guided anti-tank missiles on domestic armored personnel carriers, as well as visibility problems."

"Incidentally, the Ukrainian tank crew was also not particularly aware of the situation and fired at the last moment when the armored personnel carrier had almost passed them," it reads.

The Russian soldiers who fled from the burning carrier were captured and taken prisoner.

Battle maps indicate that Russian forces have driven a wedge into the territory captured by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region, regaining at least three villages. The loss of land by Kyiv means a loss of leverage for potential peace negotiations with Moscow, assessed the "New York Times" on Tuesday.

According to military analyst Emil Kastehelmi from the Finnish group Black Bird Group, some Russian units "managed to penetrate relatively far behind Ukrainian army lines." According to experts, about 300 square miles of Russian territory is currently under Ukrainian control. This represents a loss of about 25% of the area compared to the situation in August when the Ukrainian military launched an offensive in the Kursk region.