The Russian Ministry of Defense on Thursday released a video showing an UAV destroying one of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) the US has provided to Ukraine, near Avdeevka.
The ten-second clip shows the Russian first-person view (FPV) drone diving into the side of the vehicle, which had stopped along a treeline.
According to the daily report by the Russian Defense Ministry, the “Center” task force on Thursday made tactical advances and repelled eight counterattacks by Ukrainian forces near the villages of Pervomayskoe, Novokalinovo, Novobakhmutovka, Umanskoye and Berdychi.
Russian forces have been steadily advancing near Avdeevka since taking the heavily fortified town north of Donetsk in mid-February. Kiev has tried to hold the line by deploying formations intended for an armored offensive in Zaporozhye, including the elite 47th Mechanized Brigade equipped with US hardware.
Washington had sent at least 186 Bradleys – the US response to the Soviet BMP – to Ukraine, “without a plan to ensure their long-term usefulness,” the Pentagon’s inspector-general lamented in February. Many were lost during the Ukrainian “counteroffensive” last year, including one that was captured by Russian troops in working condition.