Ukrainian Marines destroyed a Russian tank with a Stugna-P guided missile, as can be seen from these images.
The footage begins with the missile being fired before it is shown hitting a Russian tank head on. The Stugna-P is a Ukrainian-made, anti-tank guided missile that was designed in the early 2010s to destroy modern armored vehicles.
The Ukrainian military said that the video was filmed near Kherson, which is a Russian-occupied city in the Kherson Oblast region of southern Ukraine, not far from the city of Mykolaiv and the strategically vital port city of Odesa.
The 35th Marine Infantry Brigade- officially the ’35th Marine Infantry Brigade Named after Rear-Admiral Mykhailo Ostrogradsky’ – said in a short statement obtained on Friday, July 1: “Anti-tankers of the Odesa marine brigade destroyed another Russian tank in the Kherson direction with the help of a ‘Stugna-P’ ATGM [anti-tank guided missile].”
The Office of Strategic Communications (StratCom) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also relayed the information.
The 35th Marine Infantry Brigade is part of the Ukrainian Navy and is garrisoned in Dachne, a village near Odesa, in southern Ukraine, in peacetime.
We contacted the 35th Marine Infantry Brigade for further comment, as well as the Russian Ministry of Defense, but haven’t received a reply at the time of writing.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation”. July 1 marks the 128th day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and July 1, Russia had lost about 35,750 personnel, 1,577 tanks, 3,736 armored combat vehicles, 796 artillery units, 246 multiple launch rocket systems, 105 air defense systems, 217 warplanes, 186 helicopters, 645 drones, 143 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 2,610 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 61 units of special equipment.
A missile strike on Odesa has killed 18 people including two children, according to regional governor Maksym Marchenko, with over 30 people hospitalized. Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov has said that Russia is using inaccurate missiles from old Soviet stockpiles in over half of its strike on the country.
Ukraine’s top brass has said that they have forced the Russians to abandon Snake Island and have derided Kremlin officials for claiming that they left as a “gesture of goodwill”. Ukraine’s military added that the Russians had fled the island in speedboats after being hit by a barrage of missile strikes and artillery.
The situation in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk has been described as “extremely difficult”, with Russian shelling making it impossible for civilians to evacuate.
UK foreign secretary Liz Truss has said that pushing Russian forces out of Ukraine completely was a “realistic” ambition and justification for providing additional weapons.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said that a new “iron curtain” is appearing between Russia and the West.
Russia accused Norway of disrupting critical supplies from being delivered to Svalbard on Wednesday, threatening to retaliate. But Norway said that it was not blocking access to the archipelago in the Arctic, stating that it was only applying international sanctions and that the Russians had other ways of getting there.
NATO leaders have called Russia “the most significant and direct threat to allies’ security and stability” and announced a new “strategic concept” in response to President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. NATO is planning to boost its quick reaction forces from 40,000 troops to over 300,000 troops.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. will increase its military forces across Europe.
NATO has also formally invited Sweden and Finland to become members of the alliance. The move comes after Turkey agreed to support Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said Sweden and Finland will formally sign the NATO accession protocol on Tuesday.
Turkey had initially opposed the countries’ bids to join the military alliance, accusing both of harboring Kurdish militants. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson at the NATO summit in Madrid and the three countries reached an agreement.
President Erdogan has since said that Turkey could still block Finland and Sweden from joining the Alliance if they failed to meet his expectations to extradite people designated by Turkey as suspected terrorists.
