News
Published January 29, 2024, 3:58 PM ET
Horrifying footage shows the moment Ukrainian forces ambushed a column of Russian tanks and used a deadly combination of missiles, armored drones, landmines and machine gun fire to destroy the enemy.
Members of Ukraine's 30th Mechanized Brigade were lying in wait recently near the village of Synkivka, about 5 miles northwest of the strategically important city of Kupyansk in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, when two Russian main battle tanks and two armored personnel carriers drove right into their trap.
The drone footage taken by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry earlier this month on the area.
A column of Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers drove into a Ukrainian ambush in the Kharkiv region last month. 30th Mechanized Brigade Two tanks and two armored vehicles were destroyed on or about December 28 while attempting to take a settlement. 30th Mechanized Brigade
As the lead Russian tank flies past a thicket of bare trees along the path, it is hit by a Ukrainian anti-tank missile and explodes in a fireball, sending thick, black clouds of smoke into the air.
The remaining Russian vehicles in the doomed column attempt to retreat, but the Ukrainians quickly interrupt their retreat by firing at the rear armored personnel carrier with an armed drone.
As smoke pours from the broken down vehicle, Russian troops emerge from inside the vehicle and flee towards the tree line.
The column came under fire as it drove past a group of trees on the road to Kupyansk. 30th Mechanized Brigade A Ukrainian missile hit the lead tank, causing it to explode into a fireball. Russian troops from the 30th Mechanized Brigade jumped out of the bombed tank and ran toward the trees. 30th Mechanized Brigade
The two still intact vehicles, left as if on the ground in the exposed no-man's land, desperately try to escape the ambush – but in their hasty flight they drive over land mines and burst into flames.
The Ukrainians then used cluster munitions against the decimated column, sending the Moscow soldiers for their lives. It was not immediately clear from the video how many combatants were killed or wounded.
“A typical day for the Russian occupiers in Ukraine,” said the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in an X contribution to the footage, which was set to a humorous Italian gibberish song from a 1981 Soviet cartoon.
The second and third vehicles in the convoy attempted to escape the ambush but ran over mines. 30th Mechanized Brigade A band of Russian troops jumped out of the destroyed vehicles and ran for their lives. 30th Mechanized Brigade
The open source news channel Tender described what happened near Kupyansk described as an “absolute bloodbath”.
Russia is said to have deployed at least seven tank and infantry fighting vehicle columns between December 14 and 28 to capture the settlement of Synkivka. Each of these columns was systematically destroyed by Kiev's forces, as Forbes previously reported.
For Moscow, the goal is to move closer to the city of Kupyanks and consolidate its gains in the Luhansk region, much of which is already under Moscow's control – and to capture more territory in the Kharkiv region.
It was Russia's seventh known failed attempt to take the settlement of Synkivka. 30th Mechanized Brigade
Russia has made gradual progress in some sections of the front line, but has so far been unable to break through Ukraine's defenses.
Likewise, after a disappointing counteroffensive in the spring, Kiev's forces have struggled to liberate large swaths of land occupied by the enemy.
As a result, the conflict has largely come to a standstill during the winter months. The question remains whether Ukraine will be able to deter Russia if US Republicans in Congress continue to block a new military and financial aid package proposed by Democrats.
Russian units continued to attack sectors north of Kupiansk on Sunday but were unable to advance, the Institute for the Study think tank reported in its latest update.
https://nypost.com/2024/01/29/news/moment-ukrainian-forces-ambush-and-annihilate-column-of-russia-tanks/?utm_source=url_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons
Copy the URL to share