The Russian Ministry of Defense published a video on Friday showing the destruction of armored vehicles supplied to Ukraine by the US and its allies, overlaid by a snippet from the iconic radio broadcast announcing the 1941 invasion by Nazi Germany.
The 45-second video opens with a group of armored cars getting caught by artillery in an open field, somewhere on the Zaporozhye front. This is followed by drone footage of exploding armored cars, personnel carriers and tanks. A still image shows a group of US-supplied Bradley infantry vehicles and a knocked-out Leopard tank. Another Leopard is then seen burning on a dirt road.
While the footage is accompanied by electronic music, the video opens with a blast from the past. “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated,” says Yuri Levitan (1914-1983), known as the voice of Soviet radio, quoting from the June 22, 1941 broadcast announcing that Nazi Germany and its allies had invaded the USSR.
The Russian Defense Ministry frequently uses another quote from Levitan’s broadcast, “Victory will be ours!” to sign its announcements.
Ukrainian Troops Made 6 Failed Attempts to Break Through Russian Lines - Senior Official
The Ukrainian forces have attempted six times to break through the Russian defense lines over the past 24 hours and failed, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporozhye regional administration, said on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Ukrainian offensive in the special military operation zone had started as Kiev was using its strategic reserves. He emphasized Ukrainian forces had failed to reach their goals in all of the combat sectors.
"Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian armed forces have made six attempts to break through the frontline and into our defense positions. Four attacks have been repelled near the Vremevka salient and two south off the city of Orekhov," Rogov said.
He added that the enemy failed to achieve significant success and was thrown back with heavy personnel and material losses.
"Our army has actively engaged artillery and aircraft to strike against the enemy and its reserves," Rogov said.
The Ukrainian government has been planning a major "counteroffensive" against Russia for several months. Ukrainian and Western military experts have repeatedly named the Zaporozhye Region as one of Kiev's main targets, as it would open the access to the Azov Sea and cut off the land corridor to Crimea.
Russia has considered the Zaporozhye Region to be part of its territory since September 30, 2022, when Putin and the head of the region signed an agreement on its accession to the country following a referendum in which an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia.
Around 70% of the region is currently controlled by Russia, but Ukrainian troops are still holding the region's capital and biggest city, Zaporozhye.
How Does Russian Kornet Anti-Tank Missile Work
The Ukrainian conflict has become a harsh reality check for people who thought that Western military hardware would be no match for Russian weaponry.
Russian air defense systems and electronic warfare systems have already displayed their effectiveness against Western UAVs, rocket artillery systems and cruise missiles used by the Kiev regime.
However, Ukrainian crews operating Western-made tanks and armored vehicles have also learned the hard way that Russian anti-tank weapons do not discriminate.
Mobile Russian "tank hunter" teams armed with portable anti-tank missile launchers played an important role in overcoming the recent attempts by the Ukrainian forces to break through Russian defenses in the vicinity of Donetsk. In Donestsk, Kiev forces ended up losing scores of tanks and armored vehicles, including several German-made Leopard tanks and US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.
One such team operating an anti-tank missile launcher mounted on the back of a small buggy, has already managed to take out four enemy armored personnel carriers and two tanks.
Currently, Russian Armed Forces employ several types of anti-tank missile weapons, some of which have already displayed their effectiveness during the conflicts in the Middle East over the past two decades.
How Good is the Kornet Missile?
One of these weapons is the 9M133 Kornet, a man-portable anti-tank guided missile system that can hit targets at a range of up to 5,500 meters, with its tandem warhead capable of punching through about 1,200 mm of tank armor.
The Kornet-D modification, typically mounted on a vehicle, boasts even more impressive characteristics, with its missiles being able to strike at targets at a distance up to 10,000 meters and penetrating up to 1,300 mm worth of armor.
Kornet missiles are designed to defeat the explosive reactive armor used by modern tanks, while a particular feature of this weapon system also makes it capable of bypassing enemy active protection systems: two missiles can be fired in quick succession, thus giving enemy countermeasures little time to switch to the second threat.
Aside from being a potent tank-hunting weapon, Kornet can also be used to destroy buildings and fortifications.
Can a Kornet Take Out an Abrams?
During the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraqi forces managed to take out at least two US M1 Abrams main battle tanks and one Bradley infantry fighting vehicle with Kornet missiles, while Hezbollah fighters successfully used Kornets against Israeli Merkava main battle tanks during the conflict in Lebanon in 2006.
Kornet Missile's Price
The price of a single Kornet missile was estimated by media at about $26,000 apiece in 2019, which makes it a real bargain considering that one such missile can take out an Abrams tank worth over $10 million.
Is Javelin Better Than Kornet?
The chief difference between Kornet and one of its Western counterparts, the US-made FGM-148 Javelin man-portable anti-tank missile system, is the guidance system: while Kornet missiles are guided by laser and require the system’s targeting module to keep the target in its sights until a hit is scored, Javelin is a “fire-and-forget” weapon whose missile homes in on a target by itself.
That said, the Kornet has a greater range than a Javelin (5,500 meters versus about 2,500 meters) and can punch through thicker armor, not to mention that Kornet missiles can also be used not just against armored vehicles, but against fortifications as well.
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