Moment Ukrainian soldiers blow up Russian tank with anti-tank missile system
This is the moment Ukrainian soldiers blow up a Russian tank using an American Javelin anti-tank guided missile system.The footage shows the Russian tank through the sights of the anti-tank guided missile system near a treeline. An explosion that appears to be an artillery shell occurs right next to the tank before the missile can be heard firing.The images then show the Javelin missile hitting the tank and causing an explosion as other explosions can be heard in the background amid what appears to be intense fighting.The video was obtained from the 30th Prince Konstanty Ostrogski Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Sunday, November 20, along with a statement saying: 'It's burning! ... The tank of the Russian invaders. They brazenly tried to attack the positions of 30th Mechanized Brigade, but received a powerful response. Just look at how efficiently and effectively our guys work with the Javelin ATGM [anti-tank guided missile].'The Javelin is an American-made portable anti-tank missile system that has been in use and repeatedly upgraded since 1996. The US has said that it has provided Ukraine with thousands of the weapons since the beginning of the Russian invasion.Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is still calling a 'special military operation'. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and November 21, Russia had lost about 84,600 personnel, 2,892 tanks, 5,822 armoured combat vehicles, 1,870 artillery units, 393 multiple launch rocket systems, 209 air defence systems, 278 warplanes, 261 helicopters, 1,537 drones, 480 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 4,378 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 161 units of special equipment.Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.Russian forces launched nearly 400 strikes in eastern Ukraine as part of a new artillery offensive on Sunday, according to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.Zelensky said: 'The fiercest battles, as before, are in the Donetsk region. Although there were fewer attacks today due to worsening weather, the amount of Russian shelling unfortunately remains extremely high.'Zelensky added: 'In the Luhansk region, we are slowly moving forward while fighting. As of now, there have been almost 400 artillery attacks in the east since the start of the day.'Russia has reassigned troops that were in Kherson in southern Ukraine to the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, is set on Monday to assess potential damage to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe's largest – after renewed shelling.The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, said that the forces responsible for the shelling were 'playing with fire'.Germany has offered Poland Patriot missile defence systems to help protect its airspace after a missile hit the NATO member last week.Christine Lambrecht, Germany's Minister of Defence, said: 'We have offered Poland support in securing airspace – with our Eurofighters and with Patriot air defence systems.'Mykhaylo Podolyak, a key adviser to the Ukrainian president, has said that negotiations with Russia would amount to 'capitulation'.Podolyak labelled Western attempts to urge Ukraine to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin as 'bizarre' as Ukrainian forces have recently won a number of victories on the battlefield.He said it would be like saying that the country 'that recovers its territories must capitulate to the country that is losing'.