Ukrainian frontline footage shows daring ambush destroying Russian tanks one by one

Footage has shown how a Ukrainian battalion in the eastern conflict regions destroyed an entire column of Russian tanks with a patented ambush strategy. The Ukrainian 36th Separate Marine Brigade, which provided support to the Azov Regiment during their failed defence of Mariupol last May, released the video of their defensive ambush on social media. The footage cuts between the marine soldiers using US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles behind the cover of a small mound to fire on the advancing Russian tanks before drone footage catches the direct hits.

The 36th Brigade appeared to pick off the Russian tanks one-by-one as they advanced unsuspectingly on the Ukrainian positions.

As the first military vehicles traverse the muddy paths through a destroyed village in the Donetsk region, the astonishing footage shows one Ukrainian soldier firing a Javelin missile.

Drone cameras then capture the moment the missile travels several hundred metres before careening into the oncoming tank.

This process is repeated over and again as the Russians fail to decipher from where they are being attacked.

Ambush tactics have become a staple strategy employed by Ukraine to overcome the fact that they are often outnumbered both in terms of personnel and military equipment.

The defending forces are known to make use of local knowledge to lure Russian forces down one-way roads, which they have preemptively mined to prevent any form of a retreat from Putin’s soldiers, after which they begin to pick off the stationary tanks.

Using state-of-the-art drones, the Ukrainian forces have effectively used ambush tactics to predict and preempt Russian attacks with devastating effect.

And the Javelin missile has been an integral part of Ukraine’s arsenal since the war began as it is able to target Russian tanks effectively by flying from a height and slamming down on the target from above.

The missile, part of a series of weapons sent to Ukraine by Western countries such as the US and UK, is particularly deadly against tanks because their armour is thinnest on top.

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Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, has said he’s hopeful Western partners will supply at least two battalions of the German-made Leopard 2s by April. He also expects six or seven battalions of Leopard 1 tanks, with ammunition, from a coalition of countries.

Also pledged are US Abrams tanks and French light tanks, along with Ukraine soldiers recently trained in their use.

The new supplies, including howitzers, anti-tank weapons and 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition, will add more muscle to the Ukraine military and give it a bigger punch.

In their counteroffensive, Ukrainian forces will look to break through the land corridor between Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula, moving from Zaporizhzhia toward Melitopol and the Azov Sea, according to Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov.

If successful, the Ukrainians “will split the Russian troops into two halves and cut off supply lines to the units that are located further to the west, in the direction of Crimea,” Zhdanov said.

source: express.co.uk