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OREKEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces whose US-made Bradley armored vehicles were damaged or destroyed in an attack on Russian positions last week vowed on Sunday to resume fighting soon.
A group of Bradley fighting vehicles backed by German-made Leopard tanks came under fire on Thursday, while Ukraine’s 47th Brigade launched an offensive southeast of Zaporizhia – part of a fresh bid to retake some territory from Russia.
Video footage of the drone, released on Russian propaganda channels, showed several vehicles being hit.
A group of Ukrainian soldiers on a break from fighting outside the small town of Orekiv in the southern Zaporizhia region told AFP they had lost most of their Bradleys.
Of the nine vehicles attached to the group’s mechanized infantry unit—not the only ones involved in the battle—six were wrecked, three damaged but repairable, and one intact.
The group said Russian forces had been forewarned, having taunted the Ukrainians the night before the battle over their radios, and suspected someone had leaked information.
Asked if they had taken any ground despite coming under such heavy fire, one of the soldiers raised his finger and thumb in a gesture to indicate very little progress.
“When our Bradley is fixed, we’ll go right back to it,” said another.
No number of casualties has been announced, but AFP has been told the number is lower than some had initially feared, as the vehicles provided protection even after they were disabled.
“Who would be happy to receive these orders, ‘Go and take those well-defended Russian positions’?” said a senior officer, who asked not to be named.
“But we still have this anger, we have no choice but to succeed.”
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that “counter-offensive and defensive actions” were under way along the front line with the Russian invasion force.
But Kiev provided few details of its strategy. The 47th Brigade is one of the newly formed units prior to the counterattack, equipped with equipment from the West.
A group of Bradley fighting vehicles backed by German-made Leopard tanks came under fire on Thursday, while Ukraine’s 47th Brigade launched an offensive southeast of Zaporizhia – part of a fresh bid to retake some territory from Russia.
Video footage of the drone, released on Russian propaganda channels, showed several vehicles being hit.
A group of Ukrainian soldiers on a break from fighting outside the small town of Orekiv in the southern Zaporizhia region told AFP they had lost most of their Bradleys.
Of the nine vehicles attached to the group’s mechanized infantry unit—not the only ones involved in the battle—six were wrecked, three damaged but repairable, and one intact.
The group said Russian forces had been forewarned, having taunted the Ukrainians the night before the battle over their radios, and suspected someone had leaked information.
Asked if they had taken any ground despite coming under such heavy fire, one of the soldiers raised his finger and thumb in a gesture to indicate very little progress.
“When our Bradley is fixed, we’ll go right back to it,” said another.
No number of casualties has been announced, but AFP has been told the number is lower than some had initially feared, as the vehicles provided protection even after they were disabled.
“Who would be happy to receive these orders, ‘Go and take those well-defended Russian positions’?” said a senior officer, who asked not to be named.
“But we still have this anger, we have no choice but to succeed.”
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that “counter-offensive and defensive actions” were under way along the front line with the Russian invasion force.
But Kiev provided few details of its strategy. The 47th Brigade is one of the newly formed units prior to the counterattack, equipped with equipment from the West.
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