Kiev taking huge armored vehicle losses – Bild

As Ukraine struggles to breach Russian lines during its counteroffensive, the attacks are taking a heavy toll on its armored formations, with vehicle losses numbering in the dozens in just one sector of the front, Bild reported on Thursday, citing video materials reviewed by its journalists.

According to the report, while Kiev managed to capture the village of Staromayorskoye in the southwestern part of Russia’s Donetsk Region after more than a week of fighting, the success came “at a high price” in terms of destroyed armor. The Russian Defense Ministry has not confirmed this information, but did report numerous artillery strikes by Moscow’s forces in the area.

Citing Russian drone footage, Bild claimed that during the battle for Staromayorskoye, Kiev’s forces lost at least 31 armored personnel vehicles, including 23 mine-protected NATO-supplied vehicles. The wrecks of the destroyed vehicles still remain on the battlefield although some damaged armor has been salvaged, the outlet added.

Bild described the results as “a success from the Russian point of view,” explaining that Moscow aims to destroy as many Western-supplied armored vehicles as possible.

“Moscow’s army knows that replacing and repairing vehicles is much more difficult for Ukraine than it is for Russia,” the article said, noting that while many damaged vehicles can be restored, they have to be transported to repair bases hundreds of kilometers away from the frontline.

Ukraine launched a major counteroffensive against Russia in early June, but has so far failed to gain any ground, according to Moscow. The Russian Defense Ministry has estimated that since the start of the push, Ukraine has lost more than 43,000 troops as well as over 4,900 pieces of heavy weaponry. 

In mid-July, Business Insider reported that Kiev had lost one-third of its US-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, while around the same time The New York Times claimed, citing Western officials, that Ukraine’s counteroffensive had cost it 20% of the weapons it sent to the battlefield in the first two weeks of its counteroffensive.

Amid these apparent difficulties – which Ukraine has attributed to delays receiving Western assistance – The Washington Post reported on Friday that US intelligence officials strongly doubted that Kiev would make headway in the southern sector of the front closer to the Crimean Peninsula. Meanwhile, an earlier Newsweek report suggested a growing rift among top Ukrainian officials, with some purportedly pushing to call off the counteroffensive. 

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