On June 9, the Russian media shared video footage revealing the humiliating defeat Kiev forces suffered from while attempting to advance near the village of Orekhov in the Zaporozhye region a day earlier.
The video shows two German-made Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks and five American-made M2A2 ODS infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) which were destroyed or heavily damaged during the failed offensive. Several other vehicles, including additional Leopard 2 tanks, American-made MaxxPro mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles and Soviet-made BMR-2 mine-clearing vehicles, were abandoned by Kiev forces.
The attackers were initially slowed down by anti-tank landmines and dragon’s teeth anti-tank obstacles, and later reneged with artillery fire and airstrikes. Attack helicopters and tank hunters also played a key role in repelling the attack, according to the available information.
Russian Minister of Defense General Sergey Shoigu said in a statement that up to 1,500 troops and 150 pieces of armor from the 47th mechanized brigade took part in the ill-fated attack.
Kiev forces lost a total of 30 tanks, 11 IFVs and up to 350 personnel while attempting to advance, the minister revealed in his statement.
The fact that advanced NATO equipment recently supplied by the West, like the Leopard 2 tanks and Bradley IFVs, took part in the attack proves that this was not just a “shaping” or “probing” operation, as claimed by the Ukrainian and Western media. Kiev forces were clearly attempting to hold ground and failed in doing so.
Ukraine was promised around 90 Leopard 2 tanks and more than 100 Bradley IFVs by NATO states in recent months. Most of these equipment were delivered before the beginning of the so-called spring counteroffensive on June 4.
The humiliating defeat of Kiev forces near Orekhov confirms that these weapons, which were promoted as Wunderwaffe by the mainstream media, can’t change the balance of power in the battlefield. The Russian military remains the dominant force.