World News | Russia claims to have blown up advanced Ukrainian tank, but video shows its helicopter attacking a tractor

WASHINGTON, June 9 (AP) — Russia released a grainy black-and-white shooting video this week to back up its military’s claim that it blew up some of Ukraine’s most feared tanks, and it actually shows a tractor being killed. The situation was destroyed, according to a visual analysis by The Associated Press.

The Russian embassy in Washington announced on Twitter on Monday that its forces had “killed” eight German-made Leopard tanks, one of the most advanced and powerful weapons the NATO country has offered Ukraine.

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The Russian Ministry of Defense then posted a video on the social media network Telegram on Tuesday, with a caption saying it showed “footage of the destruction of foreign armored vehicles, including the Leopard tank.”

Russian state-controlled broadcasters and news websites widely broadcast the video, saying it was recorded by the thermal imaging system of a KA-52 Alligator attack helicopter.

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Several black silhouettes of vehicles can be seen before the helicopter fires a missile that hits one, causing it to explode. “A direct hit!” said a voice on the recording in Russian.

Germany announced earlier this year that it would supply Ukraine with 18 Leopard 2 main battle tanks, and Ukraine hopes to receive donations of about 100 from NATO countries next year.

According to its manufacturer, KraussMaffei, the Leopard 2 is one of the world’s most maneuverable and heaviest armored main battle tanks, equipped with a 120mm gun capable of cutting through Russian Soviet-era tank Wegman.

Ukrainian officials declined to comment this week on whether their Leopard tanks were in combat.

Almost immediately after the Russian video went viral online, multiple weapons experts and military bloggers took to social media to question whether the helicopter’s missile hit the tank, let alone the Leopard.

A visual analysis by The Associated Press showed that the vehicles seen in the video, filmed at night, appeared to be large stationary agricultural machines parked in a field, specifically a self-propelled sprayer and two used to harvest corn and Wheat combine harvester.

The vehicle hit by the Russian missile had four large wheels and was high off the ground. The Leopard 2 tank is low-slung and has tracks, like a bulldozer.

The Russian embassy also claimed this week that its forces had destroyed three French-made AMX-10 light tanks, which did have wheels. But the AMX-10 has six wheels, not four.

The silhouette of the wrecked vehicle in the video appears to be closer to that of a self-propelled sprayer, a specialized tractor commonly found on modern farms.

Thermal imaging systems on Russian helicopters can detect heat sources to target enemy tanks and trucks in smoky or poorly lit conditions. Stationary vehicles in the video appear black, meaning their engines are cold.

Two military vehicle experts told The Associated Press that tank crews fighting on the front lines often hide themselves in vegetation or behind buildings and emerge only to move and shoot. They said it was highly unusual for the tanks to be parked in the open because they were easy targets for enemy gunners.

Two experts who watched the Russian video said the vehicle hit by the helicopter missile was neither a Panther tank nor any other type of armored vehicle.

“The silhouette of that particular vehicle or object doesn’t look what I expected for a Panther tank,” said George Barros, head of the Russian and Ukrainian geospatial intelligence group at the Institute of War Research. “I agree…it could be a piece of heavy farm equipment.”

Valentin Chatelet, a research associate at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Research Laboratory, also said the object in the video is clearly not a Panther tank.

“They pointed thermal cameras at three vehicles that appeared to be harvesters,” said Chatelet, who lives in Brussels. “The first target they hit was probably the sprayer.”

While both Ukraine and Russia have at various times tried to downplay their losses on the battlefield, analysts say the Russian military has been particularly notorious for claiming huge victories that later turned out to be false.

“If you look at what they post and what they claim, they’re dead wrong about a lot of different things, whether it’s a hit from a weapon system that’s never been delivered to a theater, or an official statement that the Russians captured a specific target. Statement. Arriving at villages or settlements multiple times in a row and not getting there at all,” Barros said. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)