Russia Released Video Claiming it Captured Leopard 2 MBTs – The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Tuesday that its forces in Ukraine had captured German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks (MBTs) as well as U.S.-made M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles. The ministry posted a short video clip to its official Telegram social messaging channel that appeared to show Russian troops surveying the seized equipment supplied to Ukraine by the West.
“Leopard tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. These are our trophies. Equipment of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Zaporizhzhia region,” the Russia Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding “Servicemen of the Vostok group inspect enemy tanks and infantry fighting vehicles captured in battle.”
Russia further claimed that the captured vehicles had working engines, and alleged that the crews “fled,” abandoning the vehicles.
A pair of Leopard 2s along with two damaged Bradley Fighting Vehicles was seen in the footage.
Reuters was able to confirm that the vehicles seen in the video were, in fact, Leopard 2 MBTs and Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
Still, it could not independently verify the location or the date of the footage.
19FortyFive has also not been able to confirm that the video is authentic.
Leopards Lost – Ground Taken
It was confirmed last week that at least a few Leopard 2 MBTs along with as many as 16 Bradley Fighting Vehicles were disabled or destroyed in the fighting since Ukraine launched its counteroffensive operations. Such losses are not actually surprising as Ukraine had sought to breach Russian defenses, which have been increasingly fortified in recent weeks in anticipation of the offensive.
Ukraine announced on Monday that its forces had already recaptured a string of villages from Russian forces along an approximately 100 km (60-mile) front in the southeast. However, Russia has also improved its weaponry and tactics, which will continue to pose a challenge to Ukraine. In addition, Russia has built heavily fortified defenses along the 1,000 km (600-mile) frontlines. This could make it hard for Ukraine to score a quick knockout blow, but it does appear that the Kremlin will remain on the defensive.
In addition, Moscow faced another setback as it was reported that Major-general Sergey Goryachev, 52, was killed during fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region. He was chief of staff of the Russian 35th Combined Arms Army and is now one of 11 generals to be officially classed as casualties in the war – and the first this year.
More Fighting to Come
The BBC has also reported that as of Tuesday, Ukraine has yet to commit the bulk of its forces to the fight – and mostly has conducted probing, and reconnaissance attacks that may have been designed to reveal the whereabouts of Russia’s artillery, but also to seek out areas of vulnerability.
Kyiv needs to hope that it can achieve a significant enough breakthrough that could collapse Russian morale, which could demoralize the Kremlin’s troops enough that they lose their will to fight. That really isn’t a stretch – given the history of the Russian Army.
“The Great Russian Retreat” that occurred during the First World War was an attempt to avoid potential encirclement, and while it was relatively well-conducted, it proved to be a severe blow to Russian morale. That eventually led to the collapse of the Russian Army and then the Russian government.
The Kremlin may be trying to fend off such a collapse of morale by boasting that it had captured and destroyed Western-made vehicles – but unless Moscow’s forces can score a decisive victory on the battlefield, videos can only do so much.
????The Russian Ministry of Defense just released footage of captured Ukrainian Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and a Leopard 2 tank. pic.twitter.com/S0ZYy4c6Cb
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) June 13, 2023
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.
From 19FortyFive
Footage Shows World War I Guns Being Used in Ukraine
‘Vacuum Bombs Destroyed’: Ukraine Footage Shows Putin’s Thermobaric Rockets Destroyed
BOOM! Ukraine Video Shows Precision Strike on Russian Air-Defense System
