Russia’s Defense Ministry shared a video on Tuesday purporting to show the destruction of a Czech-made Vampire Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) used by Ukrainian forces near the Russian border.
According to the ministry, the Western-built MLRS was discovered moving and firing on Russian positions by servicemen of the ‘North’ group of forces during reconnaissance activities in Sumy Region. This is the region from which Ukraine launched its major Kursk incursion into Russia last month.
After analyzing the intelligence, Russian command made the decision to destroy the enemy combat vehicle using a high-precision Krasnopol projectile, the ministry reported, noting that the crew of the Vampire was killed in the strike.
In the half-minute-long aerial footage shared by the ministry, what is described as the Vampire MLRS can be seen firing multiple rockets before being destroyed sometime later with what appears to be a single strike.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry’s daily update on Tuesday, over the past 24 hours, Kiev’s forces reportedly lost up to 400 servicemen and 12 armored combat vehicles, as well as three pieces of artillery, one MLRS, one anti-aircraft missile and gun system, an electronic warfare station, and 12 automobiles.
The ministry also provided an update on Ukrainian casualties since the start of its Kursk incursion. According to the latest estimates, Ukrainian forces have lost more than 9,300 troops, 80 tanks, and hundreds of other vehicles and heavy pieces of equipment since the operation began.
On August 6, Kiev deployed thousands of troops to the Russian border region with the stated goal of creating a “buffer zone” on Russian soil. However, despite making some initial gains, Ukraine’s advance has since been stopped, according to Moscow, while the Ukrainian military has continued to suffer heavy casualties.