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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Dave Burke

Russian tank destroyed as bungling drivers ignore wreckage to drive through minefield

Dramatic video is claimed to show a Russian tank being destroyed after bungling troops drove it through a minefield - even though there was another wrecked tank there.

The clip is claimed to show two BMP-2 IFV tanks put out of action during Vladimir Putin's assault on Donbas in Ukraine.

In the 13 second footage, two large plumes of smoke are seen as the Russian tank steers into mines, which send mud flying into the air.

Ukraine's military estimates that Russia has lost more than 1,200 tanks since the invasion began in February, while intelligence chiefs believe that more than a third of its ground forces have been obliterated.

Latest estimates claim that more than 27,000 of Putin's troops have died during the assault on Ukraine.

It is also claimed to have lost 200 planes, 165 helicopters, and almost 3,000 armoured personnel carriers.

A British intelligence assessment released on Sunday said: "Russia has now likely suffered losses of one third of the ground combat force it committed in February.

"Russia's Donbas offensive has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule.

"Despite small-scale initial advances, Russia has failed to achieve substantial territorial gains over the past month whilst sustaining consistently high level of attrition."

Russia has previously been accused of using banned anti-personnel landmines during its invasion.

In March Ukrainian explosives technicians discovered the mines, which can indiscriminately kill and maim people within an apparent 16-meter range.

Human Rights Watch said that Ukraine does not possess this type of landmine, with arms director Steve Goose stating: “Countries around the world should forcefully condemn Russia’s use of banned antipersonnel landmines in Ukraine.

“These weapons do not differentiate between combatants and civilians and leave a deadly legacy for years to come.”

Anti-vehicle mines are not banned, but the UN has warned about their deadly legacy.

This morning Ukraine admitted defeat in the battle of Mariupol, saying it was working to evacuate all remaining troops from the stronghold.

The evacuation of hundreds of fighters, many wounded, to Russian-held towns, likely marked the end of the longest and bloodiest battle of the Ukraine war.

Mariupol is now in ruins after a Russian siege that Ukraine says killed tens of thousands of people in the city.

With the rest of Mariupol firmly in Russian hands, hundreds of Ukrainian troops and civilians had holed up beneath the city's Azovstal steelworks.

"The 'Mariupol' garrison has fulfilled its combat mission," the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in a statement.

"The supreme military command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel... Defenders of Mariupol are the heroes of our time," it added.

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