Two Russian armored vehicles “destroyed” by US Bradley: Ukraine video

A U.S.-donated Bradley infantry fighting vehicle () has “destroyed” two Russian armored personnel carriers in eastern Ukraine, new footage appears to show, after Kyiv reported intense fighting on the eastern front lines.

The Bradley, operated by Ukraine’s 47th Mechanized Brigade, took out two Russian wheeled personnel carriers, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday, sharing footage appearing to show the two vehicles under attack as they move through an open field.

Several soldiers pile out of the vehicles after at least one explosion, dropping to the ground as they come under fire. A later clip, appearing to have been captured from an airborne drone, shows one of the APCs on fire.

The Pentagon has provided Ukrainian forces with more than 300 Bradleys, according to the Department of Defense. The Bradleys have firepower provided by their 25 mm cannons, 7.62 mm coaxial machine guns and TOW anti-tank missile launchers, used to target Russian armored columns.

Newsweek could not independently verify the footage, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

In a separate post to social media, the 47th Mechanized Brigade said its scouts had detected the Russian troops and waited for the soldiers to move into an open area before firing the Bradley’s chain gun.

A commander with the 47th Mechanized Brigade told Newsweek in January that Russian forces were “afraid” to launch operations “when they know that a Bradley will be against them.” Western experts have described the vehicles as a valuable piece of kit, involved in some of the most intense fighting along the front lines.

The 47th, which also operates U.S.-provided M1 Abrams tanks, has long been deployed in the thick of fighting in Donetsk. Despite Russian forces launching a new offensive on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region last month, Kyiv’s military has reported some of the fiercest clashes in Donetsk.

Moscow’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its forces had captured Umanske, a village west of Avdiivka and to the southeast of Povkrovsk.

Ukraine’s military described fighting northwest of the Russian-controlled city of Avdiivka—close to regional capital, Donetsk City— as “intense” on Sunday, saying its fighters were attempting to “stabilize the situation.”

Russia tried to advance around two villages to the east of Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian defensive stronghold, Kyiv’s armed forces said. One of the settlements identified was Sokil, directly north of Umanske.

In a later statement, Ukraine’s General Staff said it was “repelling” Russian attacks near Umanske.