Watch as Brit Challenger 2 tank ‘is seen in Russia for the FIRST time’ before it’s blown up, baying Russians claim
Footage shows a fireball erupt from the alleged British tank
DRAMATIC video has caught a British Challenger 2 tank in Russia for the first time before it is blown up, reports claim.
The shock footage shows a huge explosion as the alleged UK tank was reportedly deployed near Sudzha in Ukraine’s Kursk invasion.
Vladimir Putin’s army is scrambling to halt the Ukrainian advance into Kursk after Kyiv’s surprise invasion last week.
Shot by a drone flying high above, Russian Telegram channels claim the video shows the destruction of a British-supplied tank.
At first, the tank motors down a dirt road and kicks up plumes of dust behind it.
The supposed Challenger then stops behind a small forest before a drone flies in from the bottom of the screen and explodes.
It was hit by a low-flying Russian Lancet-3 kamikaze drone, according to one Telegram channel.
A fireball explosion erupts out of the tank with firework-like shots shooting off it.
Flames furiously consume the wreck as ammunition and chemicals burn out.
The tank was being operated by the Ukrainian 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
The Svarshchiki – or Welders – Telegram channel posted the clip and said the drone hit the “upper hemisphere” of the tank.
Another channel Operatsia Z – Voenkory Russkoy Vesny reported:
“After a precision strike, the British tank’s ammunition detonated, completely destroying it….
“This is the first time that the Challenger 2 in service with the AFU has been destroyed by a UAV on our front.
“The power of the Lancet has been proven, and the enemy has suffered serious losses.”
Another channel said the “characteristic detonation of propellant charges” showed it was a Challenger.
The charges are “openly located on the floor of the fighting compartment,” reported Voenniy Osvedomitel Telegram channel.
There has been no independent confirmation of the Russian claims that the footage shows the destruction of a Challenger 2.
The video comes after it emerged today that British tanks were being used in the Kursk invasion, .
Some 120,000 Russians have fled Kursk and Belgorod as the Ukrainians, backed with Western weapons, have taken over 70 towns.
It is unclear how many are taking part in the invasion of Russia which is already Russia’s worst home defeat since World War 2.
In a snatched message from the frontline, a soldier in Ukraine’s challenger squadron told The Sun: “It’s hard.”
Their use comes after the British Government said the Ukrainians can use UK-supplied weaponry inside Russia.
It is thought to mark the first time ever that British tanks have been used on Russian soil.
Ukraine has a “clear right of self-defence against Russia’s illegal attacks…that does not preclude operations inside Russia”, an MoD spokesperson told the BBC.
“We make clear during the gifting process that equipment is to be used in line with international law,” they added.
The Challenger 2s were assigned to Ukraine’s elite 82nd Air Assault Brigade and were first used in battle last August.
The 75-ton £5m tanks are key to smashing through Russian lines and outstrip their the T-55 on speed, armament, firepower and precision.
Drones have provided a new way for the duelling armies to wipe out each others’ tanks during the war.
Russian tanks have appeared underneath the turtle shell-like cages to defend from Ukrainian drones flying down and striking them.
Humiliated Putin has lost almost all of the tanks he had when he began his brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Since before the grim two-year milestone in Mad Vlad’s war, Russian top brass have been forced to rely on “warehouses and warehouses with stockpiles of vehicles left over from the Cold War”.
Challenger 2 factfile
The MoD has claimed the UK’s main battle tank had “never suffered losses” on operations in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.
The 75-ton tanks, which cost £5million each, outstrip their the T-55 on speed, armament, firepower and precision.
The Challenger 2’s 120mm gun destroyed an Iraqi vehicle during the Gulf War from three miles away — a “kill shot” record.
They can carry up to 1,800 litres of diesel, giving them an average 341 miles range at a speed of 37mph.
If needed, additional fuel can be sprayed on the hot engine to produce a smoke screen, providing cover in battle.
The 120mm cannon can be armed with armour-piercing shells that fly towards the enemy at 4,250mph.
It can also be armed with high explosive bunker-busting shells that can blow up light enemy vehicles or entrenched positions.
On each side are five smoke grenade dischargers, which can be fired as a smoke screen to the front, protecting against laser beam-riding missiles.
It also has a chain gun spitting out 7.62mm rounds to rip through soft-skinned vehicles such as trucks, or dismounted infantry.
Earlier this year, The Sun was given an exclusive tour of the Challenger 2 in Estonia.
