Ukrainian drone strikes Russian tank, turret blown off
7:44 AM EDT, May 19, 2024
A Russian T-80BV tank was hit by a Ukrainian kamikaze drone, causing a powerful explosion that sent the turret flying a few feet to the side. The recording of the incident surfaced on the internet on Sunday.
The video was published on the Telegram channel of the drone company belonging to the 47th Independent Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The exact location remains unknown, but it was likely recorded in the Donbas region.
The footage shows the moment the kamikaze drone struck the Russian tank, resulting in an immediate and powerful explosion. The force of the blast is evident as the turret is thrown a few feet away from the tank wreck.
"Instant detonation of the Russian tank... Kamikaze drone assembled in Ukraine using Chinese components combined with a Soviet grenade destroys the occupier's tank," reads the description of the recording.
Russia's armored losses
According to the military analysis service Oryx, which tracks visually confirmed Russian losses, since the beginning of the invasion, Putin's forces have lost at least 15,878 pieces of equipment, including aircraft, armored vehicles, cars, and various types of artillery.
Among these losses, the Russians have lost as many as 3,036 tanks of different models, with the majority, 1,455, being from the T-72 series.