Graveyard for NATO Armor: Western Heavy Weapons Destroyed During Kiev’s Kursk Gambit
12:08 GMT 26.08.2024 (Updated: 12:17 GMT 26.08.2024)
© Sputnik / Russian Defense Ministry
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Along with crack troops and foreign mercs, Kiev’s surprise offensive in the Kursk region has involved the use of an array of NATO equipment. Here's what's been destroyed or captured by Russia to date.
The Russian Defense Ministry says Ukrainian losses in Kursk since August 6 include over 70 tanks, over 30 IFVs, 58 APCs, 380+ ACVs, nearly 180 other vehicles, 37 pieces of artillery, five SAMs, 11 MLRS installations, nine EW and counterbattery systems, and five pieces of engineering equipment. But that’s the broad picture. Here are some of the much-touted NATO vehicles that have been destroyed:
Challenger 2: Britain’s battle-shy MBT lost its coveted status as the sole modern tank never to have been destroyed by enemy fire when London started sending them to Ukraine last year. A Russian loitering munition destroyed a Challenger 2 in Kursk in mid-August.
Abrams: Ukraine’s monkey model Abrams tanks similarly lost their sheen after being sent to Ukraine, with the first Abrams kill in Kursk reported last week, with its upgraded explosive reactive armor kit reportedly proving unable to stop a Russian Kornet man-portable anti-tank missile. To date, at least 20 of the 31 Abrams supplied to Kiev have been lost.
HIMARS rocket artillery: At least three of these dangerous shoot-and-scoot precision rocket artillery installations have been destroyed in the Kursk assault, according to MoD figures.
Stryker: Scores of these peppy Canadian-American wheeled APC-IFV hybrids were sent into the Kursk region in Kiev's offensive, with the Russian military destroying about a dozen to date using air power, Lancet drones, and weapons manned by the Black Sea Fleet’s Naval Infantry. At least two Strykers have been captured, one almost fully intact.
Marder: These German-made IFVs have also been highly active in Kursk. Last week, shock footage showed a Marder being used to demolish homes in a Kursk village. At least three of the German "Schutzenpanzers" have been destroyed by Russian forces to date.
Bradley IFVs: The Russian MoD says at least eight Bradleys were destroyed in the course of 24 hours on August 12 during an attempted breakthrough, together with more than two dozen other vehicles. At least five additional Bradleys have been reported destroyed in fighting elsewhere so far.
Kirpi: Last week, Russian FPV drone footage showed a drone’s attack on a Kirpi MRAP operating somewhere in the Kursk region. At least 33 of these mass-delivered Turkish-made vehicles have been destroyed by Russian forces to date.
Humvee: These ubiquitous US-made mobility vehicles have been spotted extensively in MoD briefings and media reports on destroyed enemy equipment in Kursk, with knocked-out vehicles seen in an array of modifications, from heavily-armored machinegun turret-equipped versions to mystery support vehicles.
M113 APC: These boxy, Vietnam War-era tracked armored vehicles have also been spotted operating in the Kursk region. At least one M113 has been targeted by Russia’s deadly new electronic warfare-resistant Knyaz Vandal of Novgorod wired FPV drone.
Other more exotic NATO platforms have been spotted (and destroyed or captured) in Kursk, including Canadian-made Roshel Senator armored vehicles and American Cougar MRAPs.
NATO vehicles spotted in Kursk (but not yet confirmed destroyed), include Britain’s Husky TSV armored vehicles and Turkish-made Otokar Cobra IMVs.
