The Russian Defense Ministry has published footage of a Russian Lancet kamikaze drone striking a Ukrainian T-64M Bulat tank in Donetsk region.
The footage shows the tank being monitored as it stands at the crossroads of a local dirt road, with a Lancet striking its aft armor, exploding and kicking up a cloud of dust. Flames can be seen shooting out of the tank, indicating that its armor had been penetrated and its ammunition detonated. The fire grows, and eventually, the tank explodes in a fireball, pieces of its armor flying in all directions.
Ukraine’s tank crews have suffered heavy losses amid Kiev’s faltering attempts at a counteroffensive. This week, German media revealed that Ukrainian tankers fighting in Zaporozhye region were deliberately feigning breakdowns to avoid fighting Russian forces and being blown up by Russian artillery and drones.
The stalled counteroffensive weakened after Kiev sent its domestically built and Leopard 1 and 2 main battle tanks head on against well-prepared Russian defensive positions without air and artillery superiority. President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted this week that progress has been slower than expected.
Russia’s Lancet loitering munitions have featured heavily in recent news reports on the NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine. The drones have a maximum flight range between 40 and 70 km, a one-hour endurance time, and a payload between 3-5 kg. In addition to attacking ground targets, Lancets can target aerial threats, including heavy enemy drones.