A video shared on social media by open-source military intelligence group OSINT Technical (@Osinttechnical) on Wednesday captured the moment a first-person view (FPV) loitering munition slowly. It methodically approached a Russian BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) outside the village of Mykilske in the Donetsk Oblast.
A second drone recorded the destruction of the IFV as the loitering munition struck from the rear.
It is unclear from the 30-second-long video if the vehicle was disabled or if its crew was inside, but the clip ends as smoke billows out of the destroyed wreck.
What We Know
The actions were reportedly carried out by units of the Ukrainian 72nd Seperate Mechanized Brigade, the Black Zaporozhians – named in honor of the Ukrainian People’s Army Black Zaporizhian Cavalry Regiment. The unit, whose history can be traced back to the Soviet era, has been engaged in the Donbas region since 2014.
It has been one of the most prolific operators of loitering munitions in the fighting in recent months, sharing many such videos, which in turn have been propaganda coups for Kyiv.
The recent incident reportedly occurred near the village of Mykilske, which is located about 70 km (43 miles) from the industrial city of Makiivka, and east of Donetsk, the administrative cent of the oblast.
The area has seen nearly endless fighting since the start of the war in Donbas, and in the past year, the village has changed hands multiple times.
Open-source intelligence photos show that few to no structures remain standing in Mykilske, including the centuries-old Svyato-Uspensky Mykolo-Vasilyivsky monastery. Constructed in the 17th century, it was the oldest stone building in the area.
Russia’s Futile Attacks
As David Axe, writing for Forbes.com, reported in February, Russian troops have been rolling into the same kill zone along the To509 highway that has an intersection just north of the village of Mykilske. The Russian Army’s efforts to advance had failed, but it then stubbornly doubled, tripled, and quadrupled down on that failure.
Dozens of destroyed Russian vehicles are reported along the road, and the BMP-2 IFV seen in the recent video is just the latest casualty of the war.
The BMP-2 (Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty) is a second-generation, amphibious IFV that was first introduced in the 1980s and improved on the BMP-1 that had been first employed in the late 1960s. In the Soviet Army, BMPs were typically issued to the motor rifle battalions of tank regiments.
The 14-ton tracked vehicle has a crew of three and can carry up to seven infantry soldiers. It is armed with a 30mm autocannon and a Konkurs launcher, while welded steel armor provides all-around protection against 12.7 mm rounds.
Mykilske, Donetsk Oblast, a Ukrainian FPV loitering munition from the 72nd Mechanized Brigade targets a Russian BMP-2, destroying it. pic.twitter.com/Cix7uv38YX
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 26, 2023
As of last summer, Russia had already lost upwards of 700 of the Cold War-era IFVs, and there were reports that the Kremlin considered restarting production to replace those destroyed in the fighting.
Instead, it appears it is continuing to pull even older vehicles from storage – but it is likely they could meet a similar fate.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
