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Ukraine - Russia Invasion conflict
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Recent reports from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), as of June 15, 2023, confirm that Ukrainian forces have persisted with their counteroffensive operations in a minimum of three strategic directions. The reports indicate significant progress made on that day, compelling the Russian forces to resort to the BAL coastal missile defense system. The deployment of this system was to neutralize ground targets and halt the progressive Ukrainian counteroffensive.
In a significant victory against Russian forces, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have reportedly destroyed crucial Russian military vehicles including a Zoopark-1 1L219 artillery reconnaissance radar vehicle and a Borisoglebsk-2 electronic warfare vehicle, utilizing precision-guided rockets fired by the M142 HIMARS Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS).
The transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine was announced by the governments of Denmark and the Netherlands on April 20, 2023. However, some aspects of the announcement raised suspicions regarding the number, modernization, and terms of the transfer. Defence Express noted that Ukraine would receive 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks from Denmark and the Netherlands, which would undergo refurbishment by Rheinmetall.
In a report released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on June 9, 2023, the freshly launched anti-tank wheeled armored vehicle, the Kornet-D, is positioned as a 'game-changer' in combating the Bradley IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles) and Leopard 2 tanks that have been gifted to the Ukrainian military. Equipped to annihilate tanks and other armored vehicles, the Kornet-D can even take out fortified structures, soldiers in shelters, and low-velocity, low-altitude targets from a distance of up to 10 kilometers.
As the conflict in Ukraine continues to evolve, a significant update has surfaced regarding the tactical deployment of military equipment. The AMX-10RC / RCR reconnaissance anti-tank armored vehicles donated by France have been deployed by the Ukrainian Navy’s 37th Marine Brigade in a successful counter-offensive in the southern Donetsk Oblast. As confirmed by several posts on social media, these vehicles played a critical role in a daring assault on the Russian-held town of Velyka Novosilka.
In recent unfolding events from the enduring strife in Ukraine, a video surfaced on Telegram on June 14, revealing the Ukrainian army's successful counter-battery operation using American HIMARS Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) against Russian artillery in North-East Yalynskye, Donetsk Oblast. The operation reportedly led to the destruction of five units of the Russian MSTA-S, 2S19 152mm tracked self-propelled howitzers.
In an unexpected development, the 25th Air Assault Brigade, one of the oldest brigades of the Ukrainian air-assault forces, was seen in the town of Neskuchne on June 13, 2023. This event was reported by Forbes International Press Agency, and it signifies the unit joining the expanding Ukrainian corps that's advancing south from Velyka Novosilka.
In the latest development of the war in Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a video on June 12, 2023, revealing their attempts to recover and later analyze the technology of damaged Western military vehicles with the Ukrainian army, specifically, the German Leopard 2A6 tank and the American Bradley M2A2 IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles). The captured footage comes in the wake of Russian artillery attacks against these Ukrainian vehicles on June 11, 2023.
According to a video released on social networks on June 12, 2023, Ukrainian soldiers have announced for the first time the capture of a Russian T-80BVM, the most modern combat tank in the T-80 family. Reportedly, the tank was recently seized by Ukrainian troops in Donetsk Oblast. This marks the first confirmed capture of a T-80BVM tank from the Russian army.
June 12, 2023 - Ukrainian forces have successfully targeted and destroyed at least two Russian TOS-1A thermobaric artillery systems, using Western precision munitions fired from an American M109A6 Paladin 155mm self-propelled howitzer in a significant counteroffensive, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
According to a video published on the "Ukraine Defence" Facebook account on June 11, 2023, during a joint mission conducted by the 31st separate reconnaissance battalion, 73rd Maritime Operations Center of the SSO of Ukraine, 406th Artillery Brigade, an RP-377LA «Lorandit» electronic warfare vehicle deployed in the occupied Oleshki, Kherson region was destroyed by artillery fire. The RP-377LA is a very sophisticated VHF radio jammer, spectrum analyzer, monitor, and direction finder mounted on Buhanka UAZ-452 4x4 tactical vehicle.
The Ukrainian Chief of Staff, Sergey Naev Units, informed that his units located on the border with Belarus have received mobile anti-aircraft twin-14.5mm heavy machine guns MR-2 Viktor manufactured by the Czech company Excalibur Army, topwar.ru reports.
Russian forces in Ukraine are leveraging drone technology to counter the recent wave of counter-offensives launched by Ukrainian forces. This new tactic primarily targets the Leopard 2 tanks and other modern combat vehicles provided to Ukraine by European countries and the United States, which are now heavily used by the Ukrainian army in counter-operations against the Russian army. A video released on the social network Telegram on June 10, 2023, highlights this strategy, revealing the destruction of a Ukrainian Leopard 2A6 Main Battle Tank by a Russian Lancet loitering munition.
In an extraordinary sequence of events over the past two days, the Ukrainian military has initiated substantial counter-offensive operations in various sectors of eastern and southern Ukraine. This marks the maiden deployment of several combat vehicles - such as the AMX-10RC anti-tank armored vehicles, Bradley M2A2 Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs), and Leopard 2A6 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) - donated by global allies to the Ukrainian forces in their battle against Russian troops.
According to an article by David Axe in Forbes, Australia provided Ukraine with a donation of 28 M113 armored personnel carriers and an undisclosed number of M113-based cargo vehicles called M113AS4 Armoured Logistics Vehicle (ALV) in June 2022.
The Russian army continues to destroy tanks and air defense systems donated to Ukraine by European countries and the United States using Lancet drone loitering munition. A recent video published on Social Networks showed the attack by a Russian Lancet drone loitering munition of a TRML-4D radar, used by the German-made IRIS-T SLM air defense missile system of the Ukrainian army. Without its TRML-4D radar, the Iris-T SLM cannot be used.
In a significant announcement, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed on June 8, 2023, the establishment of specialized light units focused on combating enemy armored vehicles and tanks. The newly formed units employ all-terrain type vehicles equipped with the AT-4 Spigot, a potent anti-tank guided missile system.
According to a video published by the Russian Ministry of Defense on June 8, 2023, the first Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tank donated to Ukraine by European countries was destroyed by the Russian Forces during the recent Ukrainian offensive near the city of Novopokrovka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Topwar.ru report that Ukrainian Telegram channels, allegedly sponsored by members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, published a video footage taken at one of the training grounds, in which a British Challenger-2 tank using its engineer blade easily levels an anti-tank ditch with earth and pushes "dragon's teeth" concrete obstacles in it. Russian defense lines are equipped with this type of fortification in some sections of the contact line.
According to Ukrinform on June 7, the state-run defense giant Ukroboronprom is developing capacities to manufacture 155-mm artillery projectiles, which is the NATO standard caliber.
The BMD-4M is a powerful asset among Russia's airborne infantry fighting vehicles, renowned for its balanced combination of firepower, mobility, and protection. This vehicle, often regarded as the best-armed air-transportable infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) in the world, could have significant implications in the context of the conflict in Ukraine. Recently, the BMD-4M's 100mm cannon was used to destroy a Ukrainian position at a distance of 4,000 meters, utilizing a drone for target localization.
According to insights provided by Russian military analysts, the Vikhr air-launched missile has the capability to destroy any Western tanks donated to Ukraine. The supersonic missile features a tandem-charge warhead, a powerful attribute akin to that of the Kornet, Fagot, and Konkurs-M Russian anti-tank missile systems. The 9M113M missile used in these systems also comes with a tandem-charge warhead and has proven itself effective in mission delivery.
Topwar.ru website reports that the new heavy infantry fighting vehicle was created on the basis of a Soviet-era T-62M tank, allegedly captured by Ukrainian soldiers on a Russian unit, and handed over to volunteers. A turret from a Russian infantry fighting vehicle BMP-2 with a 30-mm automatic cannon has been fitted to the hull of the tank.
In the world of modern warfare, drones have become an essential tool for artillery units to enhance the accuracy of their operations, especially when working with towed howitzers. Russian artillery units deployed in Ukraine use Orlan-30 drones to increase the accuracy of 152-mm howitzer 2A65 "Msta-B" firing high-precision guided ammunition 3OF39 "Krasnopol". Reconnaissance and target designation was provided by the Orlan-30 UAV.
According to information released by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on June 1, 2023, Ukraine has already received about 60 Leopard 2 tanks from the allies. "So far we have received about two battalions of 30 tanks each, that is, about 60 units in total," said the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov."
