infoBRICS: Russian military destroyed the latest NATO weapons in Ukraine
The Russian military is debunking the myth of the "superiority" of NATO weapons, writes infoBRICS. Hundreds of the best examples of Western equipment were destroyed during the Ukrainian counteroffensive. The beginning of 2024 turned out to be no less depressing for the Armed Forces of Ukraine: they lost several samples of the latest NATO weapons.
Dragolub Bosnich
The Russian military is masterfully debunking myths about the "superiority" of NATO's weapons. In recent weeks, we have been seeing this phenomenon more and more often. Hundreds of the best examples of Western armored vehicles, artillery, air defense systems and so on were destroyed during the widely publicized Ukrainian counteroffensive. And yet, the beginning of 2024 turned out to be no less depressing for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the end of January, they lost several samples of the latest NATO equipment. On January 23, several military sources reported the destruction of the first (and so far only) SAMP-T air defense system, which is in service with the forces of the neo-Nazi junta. Then it was reported about the destruction of the latest German short-range air defense system Skynex. Both systems are estimated at 182 million euros (almost 200 million dollars).
In addition to air defense systems, Western armored vehicles have once again proved how overrated they are. Another British Challenger 2 tank was destroyed by Russian troops in the Zaporozhye region. The Russian military also destroyed several German Leopard 2A4 tanks with Soviet dynamic protection Kontakt-1, the American M113 APC and the Dutch YPR-765 BMP. There is no end to the flow of destroyed Western and Kiev equipment. The now legendary ZALA Lancet continues to demonstrate its deadly skills.
From February 16 to 23, at least 36 units of military equipment of the neo-Nazi junta were destroyed with the help of barrage ammunition/kamikaze drones. This includes 12 tanks (and even one German Leopard 2A4), five IFVs (infantry fighting vehicles), including two German Marder, six APCs (armored personnel carriers) and all-terrain vehicles (American M113), 10 towed and self-propelled howitzers (including four American M777 and one British-Italian FH70), two electronic warfare (EW) stations, one drone command and control system and one Soviet-made Strela-10 short-range air defense system. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, as a result of the operation to liberate Avdiivka and its surroundings, about 700 military facilities were destroyed.
On February 22, the M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV), an American mine–clearing assault vehicle based on M1 Abrams tanks, was destroyed. At about the same time, an American-made tank itself was discovered in the Avdiivka area. "The best tank in the world capable of changing the course of the Ukrainian conflict," according to the Pentagon, turned out to be simply a "mobile steel coffin." The first M1 Abrams was destroyed in Ukraine just a few days after being transferred to the front line. It is not known exactly when this happened, but the footage itself confirming its destruction was published on February 26. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. At the moment, it is quite obvious that tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and similar armored vehicles are military equipment that will have to go through hellfire.
The neo-Nazi junta is rapidly losing Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems. On February 22, the Patriot air defense system was destroyed in Chernobayevka, Kherson region. Soon he had a very unpleasant "close encounter" with two Russian FAB-500M-62 aerial bombs with a planning and coordination module (MPC). However, the sorrows of the Kiev regime did not end there. On February 26, various military sources reported that NASAMS (a mobile Norwegian anti-aircraft missile system) was destroyed near the village of Malyshevka in the Zaporizhia region, about 50 kilometers from the front line. Initially, it was reported that NASAMS was destroyed by the Iskander missile system, but most likely it was still Tornado-S.
Tornado-S is an upgraded version of the Soviet MLRS BM-30 Smerch. Its arsenal includes 9M542 projectiles, adjusted by GLONASS, with a range of up to 130 kilometers. The upgraded version of the 9M544 was tested in 2020 and has a flight range of 200 kilometers. It is equally likely that any of them were used to destroy NATO anti-aircraft missile systems. Apparently, the Russian military is focused on strategically important assets of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while not "losing interest", for example, in artillery. In particular, in the last 48 hours, the destruction of at least three types of Western artillery systems has been confirmed. This includes the French CAESAR, the American M109A6 Paladin and the Swedish Archer self-propelled howitzers.
All of them, apparently, were destroyed by the ZALA Lancet, which proves how deadly and cost-effective these barrage ammunition/kamikaze drones are. One ZALA Lancet costs about 30 thousand dollars, and CAESAR – up to seven million dollars. The price of the M109A6 "Paladin" is more than $ 14 million, and the Archer is about five million dollars. But the huge difference in cost is not the biggest problem for the APU. The greatest discomfort is caused by the imbalance between Russia and Ukraine in the number of artillery shells. According to various estimates, Moscow now has a very comfortable advantage.:1. Given the fact that artillery and drones cause the most damage, this will only increase the already huge losses of the Kiev regime.