Video Shows Ukraine Drone Find Fatal Gap in Russian 'Turtle Tank's' Armor

New footage published by Ukraine's government appears to show the moment a Ukrainian explosive drone drops into a Russian tank fitted with protective armor designed to fend off Kyiv's uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).

A brief clip, attributed to Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade, appears to show a first-person-view (FPV) kamikaze drone careering toward a Russian tank at an unspecified location along the front lines. The drone drops into the tank, another airborne capturing an explosion engulfing the vehicle.

"Occupiers made a 'turtle' tank but forgot to close a hatch," Kyiv's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday, adding that Ukrainian drone operators "don't forgive such mistakes."

Newsweek could not independently verify when or where the clip was filmed, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Footage circulated online in recent months indicates that Russia is using fixed, shell-like metal structures around its tanks in an effort to protect the vehicles from Ukrainian FPV kamikaze drone strikes zeroing in on tanks and other armored vehicles along the front lines. The vehicles with the protective cage have been dubbed "turtle tanks," which has drawn ridicule from open-source intelligence accounts.

The turtle tanks have popped up in several parts of Ukraine, including in the northeastern Kharkiv region where Russian forces launched a fresh offensive from the border Belgorod region last month, small-arms expert Matthew Moss previously told Newsweek.

War monitoring accounts and Ukraine's military have shared clips that they say show the destruction of turtle tanks.

Last month, Kyiv's government said a Russian "turtle tank" had been blown up by several land mines. Earlier in May, Ukraine's 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade, which operates in the east of the country, published a brief video it said showed a Russian armored column launching an assault on Ukrainian positions close to the Donetsk village of Novomykhailivka. In the clip, at least one Russian tank covered by a metal cage is visible.

Another video shared across social media appeared to show a Russian tank encased in a turtle-like protective covering moving through a field around the Donetsk town of Krasnohorivka.

Kyiv and Moscow are battling for drone superiority, and FPV drones dominate the skies above Ukraine. Used across the front line for reconnaissance, targeting and taking out military vehicles, they have menaced Russia's tanks, and Ukraine frequently shares footage recorded by the drones in the battlefield.

"Russian tanks are Ukrainian FPV drones' 'favorite targets,'" Kyiv's Defense Ministry said earlier this year.

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