A Russian sniper commander (call sign: Moskva) recently explained how a German-made Leopard 2 tank was blown to pieces in a 2023 offensive against Ukraine at Rabotino in Zaporizhzhia.
One of those pieces was saved, soon finding its way into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal library in the Kremlin, as per a Ria Novosti report.
Apart from the German military, the Leopard 2 has been widely used in a dozen European and Western countries.
Boasting an operational range of 450-500km and a maximum speed of about 72km/h, these tanks are typically operated by a four-member crew operating a 120mm/L55 smoothbore gun with 42 rounds, as well as a 7.62mm machine gun, a 7.62mm anti-aircraft gun, and 16 smoke grenade dischargers, as per a Guardian report.
Yet, the soldier explained that destroying the tank was not too complicated—in fact, not as difficult as preparing to do so.
‘Moskva’ explained that the tank was monitored from a quadcopter, and carefully lured into a pre-prepared kill zone, where a VT-40 FPV drone was already on duty, as per a KP.RU report.
According to him, the Leopard 2 was typically used in direct/semi-direct contact. Often firing at Russian positions from just 3-4km away, this tank’s shots were fast and close to the ground, making it a lethal force on the battlefield.
“You had no more than a second to hide after hearing a shot,” he recounted.
Video footage shows that when the tank got into position at the kill zone, the VT-40 FPV drone fired straight at a weak spot on the tank’s turret, blasting it to smithereens.
“It burst into flames beautifully. And then it exploded just as beautifully!”
