Ukraine Asgard Group Takes Out Russian T-72, Two Air Defense Systems: Video

Ukraine's Asgard Group has taken out a number of Russian weapons, including a T-72 tank, a multiple rocket launcher and several air defense systems, according to Kyiv.

The Asgard Group destroyed one Russian T-72 tank and damaged another in an unspecified location, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who heads up Ukraine's ground forces, said in a post to Telegram on Sunday.

The Ukrainian fighters also targeted and destroyed one of Russia's 2S9 Nona self-propelled mortar systems, a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, a Msta-B towed howitzer and two Russian air defense systems, Syrskyi said.

In a video accompanying the post, a collection of clips apparently filmed by Ukrainian drones shows a range of strikes labeled by Ukraine's military according to the equipment it says has been destroyed.

Ukraine has often released drone footage purportedly showing Kyiv's forces striking Russian targets, but Newsweek cannot independently verify details of the footage, including when or where it was filmed. The Russian Defense Ministry has been approached for comment via email.

Described as an "elite drone squad" by The Associated Press, the Asgard Group is among the many Ukrainian units making use of a variety of drones to try to gain the upper hand in the 20-month long war. The unmanned aerial vehicles are widely used by Ukraine's armed forces in many roles across the front line, including to carry out kamikaze strikes, as well as locating and targeting Russian assets.

Ukraine's General Staff said in an update posted to social media on Sunday that Russia had lost eight tanks in the previous 24 hours. In total, Russia has lost 5,175 tanks since February 2022, according to Kyiv's military, but it is not clear if Ukraine has included the T-72 in Syrskyi's update in this count.

Between February 24, 2022, and the beginning of October 2023, Russia lost a confirmed 2,437 tanks, according to Dutch open-source intelligence outlet, Oryx. Of this number, more than half are variants of the T-72. The outlet only records losses that have been verified as destroyed by video footage or photographs.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Ukraine had lost 12,980 tanks and other armored vehicles in the war.

Syrskyi's figures come as fighting in Ukraine enters the more challenging fall and winter months, seeing Ukraine's summer counteroffensive change with the seasons.

The coming weeks will "see a new round of fighting," Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst with the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, previously told Newsweek.

Mechanized warfare will not stop with the seasons, he said, as long as both sides are equipped to fight under the new conditions. "Frozen ground is great for mechanized advances, so we can expect a new round of fighting and probing to start in December," he said.

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