A Stryker personnel carrier has been knocked out with a direct hit of a guided munition
Russian troops have successfully destroyed another piece of armor supplied to Ukraine by its Western backers, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Thursday as it published a video of the strike.
A US-made Stryker armored personnel carrier (APC) was spotted by Russian aerial reconnaissance in a village in Kursk Region. Kiev’s forces launched an incursion into the Russian border region last month, but their advance was soon stopped by Moscow’s troops. Over the past weeks, the Russian military has launched a major effort to drive the invading forces away and has liberated more than a dozen settlements in just several days.
The video published by the ministry shows the APC deployed to a small wooded area on the outskirts of a settlement. It is hit by a projectile with a powerful blast, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air. The clip shows the wreckage of the APC, which was apparently still on fire after the strike.
The Defense Ministry did not specifically mention the Styker APC in its latest daily report on the situation in the region, but said Ukrainian forces lost a total of 14 pieces of military hardware in the past 24 hours, including a battle tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, an APC, and ten other armored vehicles. The Ukrainian military also lost more than 300 soldiers as a result of fighting in the area.
According to the report, the Russian military continued its counteroffensive in Kursk Region while repelling several Ukrainian counterattacks and three attempts to cross into Russia from Ukraine. Although the incursion forces initially made some progress early last month, the raid has since been halted and Russia has begun a counterattack of its own, according to both sides.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky called the operation part of Kiev’s “victory plan,” which he seeks to present to US President Joe Biden and the presidential candidates of the country’s two main parties, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. According to Ukrainian officials, the incursion was aimed at forcing Russia to redeploy its forces from Donbass, as well as serving as a bargaining chip in eventual peace talks.
Moscow continued its offensive in Donbass despite the development. It also ruled out negotiations with Kiev, citing attacks on civilians in Kursk Region. According to the latest estimates by the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev’s gamble has cost the Ukrainian military almost 15,000 lives.
