An armored Lince all-terrain vehicle of the Ukrainian army destroyed during fighting outside the gates of Soledar, the center of Donbass occupied by Wagner mercenaries yesterday. Footage released by Russian propaganda seems to indicate a very hasty retreat by the defenders, who left the burning vehicle without even removing the machine gun. It is likely that he was part of a special forces team that stayed in the background. The Iveco Lvm Lince is the only Western vehicle supplied to both armies. Russia bought and licensed several hundred of them; The Ukrainians captured a dozen at the Battle of Kyiv, while a few dozen were surrendered by the Italian government last summer. It is a lightly armored vehicle designed to survive the crew in the event of a mine impact: a trait that has made it famous in Afghanistan and has been adopted by twenty nations. Even the machine gun seen in the video appears to be a MG42/59 from our army depots, part of the military aid to the Ukrainian resistance.
By Gianluca Di Feo
Follow the war in Ukraine live.