This is the moment a Ukrainian special forces drone drops a bomb straight onto a Russian T-72B3 tank’s open hatch with pinpoint precision.
The footage shows a stationary Russian tank on a dirt track between a field and some trees. Shot from above by the drone, the images show the UAV dropping a bomb straight into the tank’s open hatch.
The bomb explodes, causing a puff of smoke to emanate from the hatch before a secondary detonation takes place, with flames suddenly erupting from inside the military vehicle.
The images, believed to have been filmed somewhere on the frontlines, then show a second tank a little further up the dirt track also being targeted. This tank appears to be next to another military vehicle. The drone drops a couple of bombs on it before the footage ends.
The footage was obtained from the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Thursday, August 18, along with a statement saying that the drone had dropped its bomb “exactly in the T-72B3’s hatch.”
The images were also relayed by the Office of Strategic Communications (StratCom) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine along with a statement saying: “Sniper hit. Soldiers of the SSO [the Special Operations Forces] of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to reduce the population of orks and their enemy equipment in Ukraine. The earth will burn under the feet of the occupiers.”
Ukrainian troops often refer to the invading Russian forces as “orcs,” in an allusion to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring novels and subsequent films.
Zenger News contacted the Armed Forces of Ukraine for further comment, as well as the Russian Ministry of Defense, but had not received a reply at the time of writing.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Thursday marks the 176th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and August 18, Russia had lost about 44,300 personnel, 1,889 tanks, 4,179 armored combat vehicles, 1,010 artillery units, 265 multiple launch rocket systems, 136 air defense systems, 234 warplanes, 197 helicopters, 793 drones, 190 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,061 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 93 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower, but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures. The Pentagon said last week that Russia had suffered between 70,000 and 80,000 casualties – deaths and injuries – since the beginning of its invasion.
Russia has replaced the head of its Black Sea fleet, Admiral Igor Osipov, 49, with a new commander, Vice-Admiral Viktor Sokolov, 60, according to Russian state-owned news agency RIA. The move comes after a series of explosions at three locations, including an airbase, an ammunition depot and an airfield, in Russian-occupied Crimea.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense has said that China is sending troops to Russia to take part in joint military exercises that are “unrelated to the current international and regional situation”.
On Wednesday, Ukraine performed disaster response drills near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest – following repeated shelling.
Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak, 50, has said that the main bridge that connects Crimea to Russia must be “dismantled”. Podolyak called the bridge an “illegal object”, adding that it “must therefore be dismantled. Not important how – voluntary or not.”
Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, Oleksii Reznikov, 56, has said that his country had not lost any U.S.-supplied HIMARS systems, contradicting Russian claims.
