Latest news with #Leopard2A6
Russia Today
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russian military destroys Leopard in Ukraine – media (VIDEO)
Russian troops have eliminated a German-made Leopard 2A6 tank in Ukraine's Sumy Region, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday, citing a Defense Ministry statement. A video reportedly showing the tank being hit by a kamikaze drone was published by the news agency. The tank was spotted near the village of Pisarevka in the north-eastern Ukrainian region during a reconnaissance flight carried out by the Russian military, the statement said. The operator then decided to strike the armor in a 'weak spot' located under its turret, the ministry added. A short clip from a first-person view (FPV) drone's camera was published by RIA. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flies at a low altitude over a dirt road going through a village, before spotting the Leopard 2A6 pulling into the road, and swiftly zeroing in on it. Russian troops entered Sumy Region earlier this year, after ending a short-lived Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Region, which began last August. Moscow seeks to create a 'buffer zone' in the area in order to protect the national border from attacks. According to President Vladimir Putin, it is already 10-12km deep. On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the successful retrieval of another German-made Leopard 2A6 tank from a battlefield. The tank had been hit by a FPV drone this past winter in a strike that damaged its track drive, the ministry said. It was abandoned by its crew in Russia's Kursk Region and remained there after its liberation. According to the statement, the tank had 'almost a full ammunition load' and received 'no critical damage.' In May, the Russian defense manufacturer Rostec stated that German-made Leopard 2A6 tanks were ill-suited for modern warfare. 'The survivability of the tank may be insufficient… amid attacks from various directions with drones and modern man-portable missiles,' the tech giant said at the time. In April, German media reported, citing a deputy military attaché in Berlin's embassy in Kiev, that the Ukrainian military had complained that Leopard 2A6s were expensive to maintain and nearly impossible to repair on the battlefield.
Russia Today
19-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Russian arms giant exposes German armor's weaknesses
Leading Russian defense manufacturer Rostec has exposed apparent flaws in the German Leopard 2A6 main battle tank, describing it as ill-suited to modern warfare. The state-owned defense conglomerate based its assessment on an analysis of a Leopard 2A6 tank captured from Ukrainian forces. Engineers found weaknesses in the tank's armor and internal structure, according to a company statement on Monday. 'The survivability of the tank may be insufficient in modern warfare, for example, amid attacks from various directions with drones and modern man-portable missiles armed with high-explosive anti-tank charges,' Rostec said. The tank's defenses are configured to counter 'classical' anti-tank weapons more common in past decades, the company added. Rostec pointed to several battlefield incidents during the Ukraine conflict in which German-made tanks were defeated, including a recent example publicized by the Russian Defense Ministry showing drone strikes against a Leopard model. It noted that many of the armored vehicles sent to Ukraine by Germany are older Leopard 1 variants, which it described as 'largely inefficient.' By contrast, the company said Russian tanks deployed in the conflict have been upgraded to withstand drone attacks and advanced anti-tank missiles. Rostec cited cases where Russian tanks continued to operate after taking multiple hits. In April, German media reported that some weapon systems sent to Ukraine have performed poorly. The conclusion was based on remarks by a deputy military attaché in Berlin's embassy in Kiev, who reportedly detailed Ukrainian complaints to Bundeswehr officials in January. The official was said to have described the Leopard 2A6 as expensive to maintain and nearly impossible to repair on the battlefield. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to increase military spending with the goal of making the Bundeswehr 'the strongest conventional army in Europe.' The new government plans to increase defense funding from the current level of around 2% of GDP to 3%.
