Ukraine's Stryker loss fuels Kremlin propaganda machine

The Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region, though impressive and victorious, carries with it inevitable losses. Besides the destroyed equipment, the Ukrainians also lose vehicles that have fallen into enemy hands under various circumstances. One such vehicle is the American wheeled transporter Stryker, whose capture has already been publicized by the Russians.

Although Ukrainian sources primarily report on the successes of the offensive in the Kursk region, losses on the attacking side are unavoidable. On the list of destroyed equipment, besides T-72 tanks, since not all details are visible.

Alongside the equipment destroyed by the Russians, the list of losses is supplemented by vehicles captured by the enemy. Among them is a valuable acquisition for the Russians—an American-wheeled armored personnel carrier, the Stryker. This capture is grist for the mill of Kremlin propaganda.

A photograph of the captured vehicle was published on Telegram by the Russian channel War Webm.

According to Russian sources, the vehicle belonged to the Ukrainian 82nd Separate Air Assault Brigade and took part in the battles with the Russian 810th Separate Marine Brigade. The Stryker was not destroyed in direct combat but fell victim to a Lancet loitering munition.

The Russians claim that the entire crew was killed, although it is not specified whether this refers to the vehicle's crew of two or all those inside (the Stryker can carry up to nine infantry soldiers in addition to the crew).

The Stryker is an 8-wheeled transporter, introduced into the U.S. Army at the beginning of the century as the cornerstone of light brigades, whose main advantage was supposed to be high mobility. In its basic version, the Stryker's chassis became the base for many specialized vehicles such as engineering, reconnaissance, fire support, tank destroyers, or medical evacuation vehicles.

Although Ukrainians have lost Strykers before, these were vehicles destroyed in various ways by the Russians. According to the Oryx service, 12 units have suffered this fate. What's new is that the Russians captured this type of vehicle.

Strykers were delivered to Ukraine as part of U.S. military assistance. The Ukrainian army has received 189 vehicles in the M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicle (basic wheeled armored personnel carrier) and M1132 Engineer Squad Vehicle (engineering version with mine-clearing equipment).