Moment Russian tank explodes in huge fireball before its crew somehow scramble free from burning wreckage – as Ukraine claws back more territory in growing counteroffensive
- Ukraine’s 225th mechanised brigade targeted a lone Russian tank near Bakhmut
- Comes as Kyiv’s forces allegedly recaptured 37kms of territory over last week
Stunning new footage from the frontlines of Ukraine has captured the moment a Russian tank was blown sky-high in a precision strike by Kyiv’s forces.
Surveying the battlefield with a drone camera, Ukraine’s 225th mechanised brigade targeted a lone Russian tank barrelling along a dirt road north-west of Bakhmut – the industrial city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region that has become the epicentre of the bloody conflict.
As the tank breaches the treeline and moves into an exposed position, it is hit with a pinpoint strike and explodes in a huge orange fireball.
Moments later, the drone zooms in to watch as the stricken tank’s desperate occupants bail out of the immobilised armour and make a run for the trees.
It comes as Ukrainian’s deputy defence minister this morning claimed Kyiv’s forces had recaptured some 37 square kilometres (14 square miles) of Russian-held territory last week.
‘Over the past week… the area liberated (in the east) was increased by nine square kilometres,’ Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said, adding that Ukrainian forces had wrested another 28 square kilometres in the south from Russian control.
Surveying the battlefield with a drone camera, Ukraine’s 225th mechanised brigade targeted a lone Russian tank
As the tank breaches the treeline and moves into an exposed position, it is hit with a pinpoint strike and explodes in a huge orange fireball
The stricken tank’s occupants tumble out of the smoking hull and scramble for cover
Ukrainian’s deputy defence minister this morning claimed Kyiv’s forces had recaptured some 37 square kilometres (14 square miles) of Russian-held territory last week
Progress has been slow but steady since Ukraine announced its long-anticipated counter-offensive last month.
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Kyiv’s forces are coming up against heavily entrenched Russian defensive positions, with Moscow’s military leaders having dug in deep ahead of the offensive along both the southern and eastern fronts.
Malyar said Ukrainian troops were fighting ‘fierce’ battles with Russian forces around the eastern flashpoint city of Bakhmut, while in the south, Kyiv’s fighters had ‘successes’ along the front towards the Melitopol and Berdyansk sectors.
‘Fierce fighting is going on everywhere,’ Maliar wrote on social media, adding: ‘The situation is quite complicated’.
Ukrainian forces have urged Western allies to escalate pledges of military support as they continue to force the offensive.
Ukraine’s military commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny expressed frustration in an interview published Friday at the slow deliveries of weaponry promised by the West.
It ‘pisses me off’ that some in the West complain about the slow start and progress to the long-awaited push against Russian occupying forces, he told the Washington Post, pointing out that Ukraine needs more timely delivery of weapons to sustain the offensive.
He also complained he has a fraction of the artillery shells that Russia is firing.
‘A lot of people die every day – a lot. Just because no decision has been made yet,’ Zaluzhny said.
Zaluzhny added that his Western supporters would not themselves launch an offensive without air superiority, but Ukraine is still awaiting F-16 fighter jets promised by its allies.
‘I do not need 120 planes. I’m not going to threaten the whole world. A very limited number would be enough,’ he told the newspaper.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke about F-16 training on Saturday during a visit to Kyiv by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
‘I believe that some partners are dragging their feet,’ Zelensky said, referring to F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots.
A coalition of Kyiv’s European backers led by the Netherlands and Denmark has said it will help teach Ukrainian pilots, after the United States gave its green light in May.
Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren last month said the training could start this summer.
A Ukrainian serviceman of the 3rd Assault Brigade fires a 122mm mortar towards Russian positions at the front line, near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, July 2, 2023
Ukrainian servicemen walk along a road in the recently retaken village of Novodarivka
A Ukrainian serviceman from the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade flashes the V-sign as they ride an armoured personnel carrier (APC) at a road near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region
This photograph taken on June 28, 2023, shows heavily damaged residential buildings in the frontline town of Avdiivka, Donetsk region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine
A destroyed Russian tank is seen in the village of Novodarivka recently retaken by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine July 2, 2023
On Sunday, Ukrainian officials said they had successfully neutralised a new drone attack on Kyiv.
‘All enemy targets in the airspace around Kyiv were detected and destroyed,’ said Sergiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration.
In a separate statement, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday that it had shot down three cruise missiles and eight Iranian-made attack drones deployed by Moscow’s forces overnight.
‘Eight Shaheds were launched from the southeast, and three Kalibr missiles were launched from the Black Sea,’ the air force said.
It did not provide any details on the Kyiv attacks.
Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the Kyiv regional military administration, said that three houses were damaged by falling debris in the Kyiv region.
Kyiv, which had been relatively spared from attacks since the beginning of the year, faced frequent nightly aerial raids in May.
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