Moscow says helicopters hit German tanks in Ukraine; analysts say they have been tractors

Russian army officers insist one in all their helicopters knocked out German-made Leopard 2 tanks participating in Ukraine’s counteroffensive this week, however analysts say their targets have been tractors and different farming gear.

Video on the Russian army’s Telegram channel exhibits one of many automobiles being focused by a Ka-52 helicopter earlier than the launch of an anti-tank guided missile. The footage signifies a direct hit.

Russian army officers advised the TASS information company that combating on Tuesday resulted in 1,500 Ukrainian casualties and the destruction of eight Leopard 2 tanks, three French-made AMX-10 tanks and greater than 100 different armored automobiles.

But analysts shortly seen that there was one thing improper with Moscow’s account of what occurred.

The Leopard 2 is a third-generation German-made essential battle tank with a 120mm smoothbore cannon that has been in service since 1979. In January 2023, officers in Berlin stated they might start offering Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine within the wake of Russia’s invasion.

The targets destroyed within the video lack a number of options of Leopard 2 tanks, such because the barrel, the distinctive armor plating to guard in opposition to mines and missiles, and the tracks that run the size of the automobile.

“Why it was necessary to give out frames with an erroneous defeat of agricultural equipment for an actual video of the defeat of the Leopards, we do not know,” the Russian “Military Informer” Telegram channel stated.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner Group mercenary drive and an everyday critic of Russian army officers, mocked them for a “job well done” on his Telegram channel.

According to Samuel Bendett, a Russian-speaking skilled on the Center for Naval Analyses suppose tank, one of many crew members aboard the Russian helicopters stated “Let’s test on this” earlier than firing the missile.