The American-supplied armor was taken out by two missiles near Avdeevka, according to a clip released by the Defense Ministry
The Russian Defense Ministry has released a video it claims shows the destruction of a US-made M1 Abrams tank near the Donbass city of Avdeevka, which will be displayed at a trophy exhibition in Moscow.
A black-and-white clip shared by the ministry on Sunday shows the Russian military launching an anti-tank guided missile at a barely visible target, resulting in an explosion. The crew of the anti-tank system fired again, resulting in another explosion.
Another video, apparently filmed from a drone, shows the Abrams being hit on the side, with a large pillar of fire immediately erupting from the top of the vehicle. Three Ukrainian crew members are seen exiting the burning tank and crawling away from the danger zone. The Abrams crew is normally four, and it is unclear what happened to the remaining service member.
Images shared by the ministry show the Abrams was rendered completely inoperable by the missiles, with wheels and tracks missing and the compartment for the crew completely burned out.
In a statement, the ministry said the evacuation of the heavy vehicle involved two stages. The first included engineer reconnaissance of the area to ensure the safety of personnel and equipment, and the second was the evacuation itself.
Earlier in the day, RIA Novosti shared a clip of the tank being towed to the rear. Russian ‘Center’ group spokesperson Aleksandr Savchuk said the US-made armor would be displayed at a major trophy show in Moscow, which will also feature dozens of other Western-made heavy vehicles captured during the conflict.
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