Russian soldiers are packing tanks with explosives and remotely driving them at Ukrainian trenches and detonating them in a terrifying new tactic.
It comes as Kyiv is forced to pause its counter-offensive in the south of the country amid heavy losses of Western armoured vehicles, according to the Wall Street Journal.
New video footage from Donetsk shows a remotely-controlled T-54 laden with explosives lumbering towards a Ukrainian trench this week. As the defenders attempt to repel it, the suicide tank hits a mine and slows down.
A Ukrainian soldier then hits it with a rocket, blowing the tank up in a massive fireball.
Despite the tank being halted around 200ft from the Ukrainians, it is likely the huge pressure wave from the explosion killed some soldiers.
Russia has used the tactic at least twice before, although this is the first time the explosion has been caught on camera.
On this occasion, Russian propaganda channel ‘Romanov’ claims that Moscow stuffed the tank with six tons of explosives before attempting to blow up Ukrainian soldiers by sending it into Kyiv territory.
The Russian defence ministry has claimed to have used this potentially devastating method of destruction on at least one occasion before, declaring on Saturday that its soldiers had packed an MT-LB full of explosives and driving it at Kyiv forces.
Moscow claimed that it resulted in significant losses but this is unconfirmed.They posted footage of soldiers filling the tank with explosives ahead of sending it towards Ukrainian troops.
The terrifying experiment of kamikaze drones and suicide tanks comes amid Volodymyr Zelensky pausing his counter to avoid huge losses after Russian helicopters helped destroy dozens of Western armoured vehicles, The Wall Street Journal reports.
After entering a second week of demanding counter-attacks, Ukraine appear to be hitting heavy resistance in their battle to liberate Russian-occupied land which has been snatched off them across a 16-month invasion.
In particular, a Russian detachment of 20 KA-52 attack helicopters have given the Russians air superiority over the advancing Ukrainians.
Russian propaganda photographs have shown dozens of destroyed Western armoured vehicles, including 16 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and five Leopard tanks.
Three crucial mine-clearing tanks, supplied by the US and Germany respectively, have also been pictured abandoned and damaged.
According to British intelligence, the most intense recent fighting has centred on the southeastern Zaporizhzhia province, around Bakhmut, and further west in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province.
Since launching its counteroffensive on June 4, Ukraine’s efforts have yielded a mixed response.
Reports they recaptured Piatykhatky, in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, on Sunday would be their first village gain in almost a week.
