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Footage has emerged of a British Challenger 2 tank in service with Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of Russia being destroyed in a Russian drone attack.
The video was released by two pro-Russian bloggers and reportedly shows Russian marines from the 155th Guards Naval Infantry brigade destroying the vehicle during fighting, according to prominent pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Rybar.
In a grainy video released by the Russian forces, first-person camera footage shows a drone about to hit the tank underneath its turret.
Rybar said the fact that the tank was operating in Kursk suggested that Ukraine intended to hold the line in the region “at all costs”.
It did not specify when the tank was reportedly destroyed.
A Challenger 2 was reported to have been destroyed by Russian troops in Kursk earlier this year.
Pictures broadcast by Russian state media at the time showed the tank’s turret blown off, lying in a wooded area as a twisted heap of charred metal.
Russia has amassed 50,000 troops in an effort to retake Kursk from Ukrainian forces. The US confirmed last week that the Kremlin had also deployed 10,000 North Korean soldiers to the region.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration said it was determined to help Ukraine fight in its war against Russia, before it hands over power to president-elect Donald Trump in January.
US President Joe Biden will send “as much aid as possible” to Ukraine in its final few months in power, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a trip to Brussels.
“President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and 20 January,” when Donald Trump is due to be sworn in to power, Blinken said.
The US will “adapt and adjust” what latest equipment it is sending, without providing details on what military equipment the US plans to provide the country, which is nearing its third year of war against neighbouring Russia.
The US is currently the largest provider of military aid to Ukraine, upon which it is heavily reliant. Trump has not given concrete details on what his administration’s approach to the war would be, but has said multiple times that he would consider halting funds to the war-torn country.
The war in Ukraine has shown no signs of slowing down, with Russia launching a huge attack on the country’s capital, Kyiv, on Wednesday with a combination of missiles and drones.
