First Guard Tank Army servicemen of Russia’s Western Military District have received a check for one million rubles ($10,200) as an award for destroying the Ukrainian Army’s German-made Leopard tank in the special operation zone, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a statement on Friday.
The MoD added that the tank was destroyed as Russian soldiers thwarted another offensive attempt by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) in the Kupyansk frontline.
According to the MoD statement, the armed vehicle was tracked down by the crew of a Russian reconnaissance drone.
The whereabouts of the Leopard tank was then immediately sent to the D-30 howitzer crew, who hit and destroyed the tank with a single shot.
In an interview with the MoD, the howitzer commander with the Styopa code name said that the Leopard tank "proved not very much-touted; we destroy these tanks and will continue doing so."
Ukrainian troops widely used the Leopard 1 and its more advanced successor, the Leopard 2, during the early stages of Kiev’s botched counteroffensive, which kicked off in early June.
Reports have surfaced about the destruction of dozens of Leopard tanks, most recently on the Kupyansk frontline.