Balitsky reported the destruction of the second Challenger 2 tank in the Zaporozhye region
The authorities of the Zaporozhye region announced the defeat of two Challenger 2 tanks with the help of the Kornet ATGM. The destruction of one of them was previously confirmed by the British Ministry of Defense. Prior to this, combat vehicles of this model have never been destroyed in combat since 1994.
Acting Governor of the Zaporozhye region Yevgeny Balitsky reported the destruction of two British Challenger 2 tanks. According to him, four more tanks of this model are now located near the village of Stepnogorsk, two in Orekhovo.
"Two of Them were worked out by the "Cornet". In principle, from the first hit it broke out. They do not show themselves from the point of view of armor power in any way," Balitsky said on the air of the Rossiya 24 channel.
According to Balitsky, the Ukrainian military will not be able to evacuate the damaged armored vehicles because of their heavy weight, so the tanks "will be standing somewhere in the museum."
The Russian Ministry of Defense, as well as the Ukrainian and British military departments have not commented on the information about the defeat of the second tank at the moment.
Image source: Alina Jus/"Newspaper.Ru"
Destruction of the first Challenger 2
On September 5, the chairman of the movement "We are together with Russia" of the Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Rogov, reported that the first Challenger 2 "was burned in the battles near Rabocino."
The British editions of the Guardian and Forbes also wrote about the liquidation of a British tank in the zone of the Russian special operation. According to media reports, the combat vehicle belonged to the 82nd Airborne Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the crew survived.
On September 6, British Defense Minister Grant Shapps confirmed the tank's defeat, while he stressed that the British authorities do not intend to send Kiev a new Challenger 2 to replace the lost one. The destruction of the tank in battles in the Zaporozhye region was the first since the start of operation of this model in 1994.
Rogov, in an interview with RIA Novosti, also said that the military who shot down the tank will be awarded.
"In addition to guaranteed payments for the destruction of enemy equipment, I am sure there will be additional initiatives from civil society," he said.
Challenger 2 is the main tank of the British Armed Forces, an upgraded version of the first Challenger model, which was produced in the 80s. It is equipped with a rifled 120 mm cannon.
The deliveries of 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine were announced in January of this year, in the spring the APU received all the promised vehicles.
Semyon Sleepy
