Dramatic drone footage released by the Ukrainian military Thursday shows Russian tanks being blown up in an ambush on their way toward the capital, Kyiv.
Several tanks and other armored vehicles are seen exploding in the attack by Ukrainian defenders using artillery shells or mines, the Times of London reported.
Analysts said the ambushed convoy included a vehicle carrying a thermobaric rocket launcher.
On Wednesday, the UK Ministry of Defense claimed that Russia has admitted using the “vacuum bombs” in Ukraine.
The British agency said Russia confirmed it has used a mobile rocket-launching system typically equipped with thermobaric warheads, which suck up the air around targets and can rupture people’s lungs.
US officials had earlier confirmed the presence of thermobaric-capable launchers in Ukraine but couldn’t say whether they’d been used.
Several tanks and other armored vehicles are seen exploding in the attack by Ukrainian defenders.Azov/Handout via REUTERS
A Ukrainian serviceman aims toward Russian positions outside the city of Brovary.ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images
The footage claimed to show more than 35 Russian tanks and armored vehicles trying to push toward Brovary, an eastern suburb of Kyiv, the Times of London reported.
The single-file convoy is seen stopping due to an explosion in the road — then trying to take evasive action after being hit.
Justin Crump, a military analyst from Sibylline, said the column included a TOS-1A weapon system that fires the thermobaric “vacuum bombs.”
The war is now 15 days old, with no end in sight.ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images
“This is part of the group that has hacked its way cross-country and is forming arguably the more dangerous thrust on Kyiv,” he told the paper of the convoy.
“They’ll likely be pushing towards the dam at the north of the city,” Crump added.
Get the latest updates in the Russia-Ukraine conflict with The Post’s live coverage.
Video of the ambush was released early Thursday right before Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, for talks in Antalya, Turkey.
Kuleba said there had been “no progress” during the “difficult” meeting on reaching a cease-fire in the 15-day-old war.