Image source: topwar.ru
The 82nd Airborne Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region lost the second British Challenger 2 tank, and also this week. According to Russian resources, the car was hit by a Ka-52 attack helicopter at night.
According to reports, on August 12, at night, a Russian Ka-52 helicopter in one of the districts of the Kursk region discovered a Ukrainian tank moving along the road, after which it hit it with a Whirlwind missile. Initially, it was believed that the destroyed tank could be a German Leopard 2, but experts who studied the picture concluded that this British Challenger 2 was from the 82nd ODSHBR of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is the British tanks that are in service with this brigade. The conclusion was made by the silhouette of the thermal imaging sight, the sight of the tank commander, as well as the barrel itself.
Thus, it can be stated that in a week the APU lost two Challenger 2, and both in the Kursk region. The first was hit by a kamikaze drone, after which it completely burned out, the second by a Whirlwind missile.
Image source: topwar.ru
In total, the British supplied 14 Challenger 2 tanks to the AFU, one or two tanks were lost in the Zaporozhye region during the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army last year. Given the two destroyed in the Kursk region, 10-11 British tanks should remain in service with the 82nd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine today. The British themselves have so far acknowledged the loss of one tank last year and one this year.
Earlier, representatives of the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom asked Kiev not to send Challenger 2 tanks to the front line, allegedly because of the possible fall into the hands of the Russian military.