British Challenger Two tanks seen on the Ukrainian front line

British Challenger Two tanks are seen on the Ukrainian front line for the first time as Russian helicopter attacks force Kyiv to ‘pause’ counter-offensive after at least 20 Western tanks and IFVs were destroyed

• British Challenger 2 tanks were sent to Ukraine to help with counter attack 
• READ: Russia has been using suicide tanks in a bid to restrict Ukrainian advances

British Challenger 2 tanks have been spotted on the Ukrainian front line for the first time – as Russian helicopter attacks reportedly force Kyiv to pause their counter-offensive after at least 20 Western tanks and IFVs were destroyed.

A squadron of 14 Challenger 2 tanks, which have a 120mm rifled gun and a 7.62mm machine gun, were gifted by Britain earlier this year as the West continue to show their unwavering support to Ukraine in their fight against Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

The £5m Challenger 2 is designed to attack other tanks and have far greater ranges and accuracy than the Kremlin’s equivalent.

A video which was circulated on Telegram showed one British Challenger 2 advancing around the front line amid Ukraine’s much-anticipated counter-offensive which launched earlier this month.

The tank has appeared at a time in which Ukrainian generals are understood to have paused advancements in recent days to recoup and find a way to punch through Russian territory without suffering huge casualties, The Wall Street Journal reports.

British-supplied Challenger 2 tanks have been spotted (pictured) on the front line for the first time in Ukraine

A Russian detachment of 20 KA-52 attack helicopters have given the Russians air superiority over the advancing Ukrainians. Pictured: Russian KA-52 helicopter destroys a Western tank 

An image provided by the Russian Defence Ministry’s press service on June 10 2023 shows German Leopard and American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles destroyed in combat in the Zaporizhzhia region, southern Ukraine

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 brutally 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.

Footage emerged yesterday of Russian Ka-52 ‘Alligators’ helicopters appearing to destroy Western tanks ‘at the junction of Zaporozhye and the DPR Yuzhno-Donetsk/Vremevsky direction’, according to pro-Russian internet influencers. 

Ukraine is also facing Russia’s terrifying new ISIS-style tactic of packing suicide tanks with explosives and remotely driving them at Kyiv soldiers. 

RVvoenkory, who runs one of the most active pro-Russian Telegram accounts, posted a clip of the British Challenger tank in Ukraine with the caption: ‘After the spectacular failure of the German Leopard tanks, the armed forces of Ukraine appreciate the gifts of British engineers and have never put them [Challenger 2 tanks – ed.] into battle. But soon they will also burn out.’ 

Britain’s Challenger 2 battle tanks were praised as ‘marvellous’ by Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov when they first arrived in March.

It is the UK’s only guaranteed 24-hour, all-weather mobile tank with protected precision direct fire and anti-tank manoeuvre capability, the British army says.

One of the Challenger 2 tanks gifted by Britatin after it arrived in Ukraine. They have now been seen on the front line for the first time

Two Leopard 2 tanks are seen in action during a visit of German defence minister Boris Pistorius at the Bundeswehr tank battalion 203 at the Field Marshal Rommel Barracks in Augustdorf, Germany, Feb. 1, 2023

Putin has boasted about the destruction of Western armoured vehicles. A US Army M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle

An earlier version of the tank claimed the longest-distance tank kill in history, with the war machine destroying an Iraqi tank from three miles away during the Gull War.

The 27ft-long Challenger 2 has a crew of four and a range of 340 miles on-road and 160 miles off road. However, it has a top speeds of about 37mph, meaning it is slightly slower than Germany’s Leopard tank.

The 75-ton armoured vehicle has been described by British military commanders as a modern tank which is ‘much better protected, more reliable and quicker’ than Russia’s Soviet-era tanks.

But the arrival of British-supplied tanks on the front line to support Ukraine comes as Putin and Russia boast about destroying Leopard tanks and Bradley vehicles.

Three crucial mine clearing tanks, supplied by Germany and the US respectively, have also been pictured abandoned and damaged.

Russia’s defence ministry said on Friday that Russian troops who have destroyed western tanks being used by Ukraine will receive bonus payments as Putin looks to incentivize his troops to carry on fighting. 

The setbacks for Ukraine come as footage emerged of Russian soldiers packing a T-54 tank with explosives before remotely driving it towards Ukrainian soldiers in a terrifying new tactic.

Horrifying footage showed the suicide tank explode into a roaring inferno, billowing with plumes of smoke, as Putin and his troops test out yet another method, which they claimed to have used at least once before, to restrict Ukrainian advances. 

The ISIS-style tactic failed when the remotely-controlled suicide bomb blew up on a landmine around 100 metres from the front line

A Ukrainian RPG then shot the tank down, triggering a massive explosion on the battlefield

Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the suicide tank as the Russian experiment backfired

Russian propaganda channel Romanov claims that Moscow stuffed the tank with six tonnes of explosives

Russian propaganda channel ‘Romanov’ claims that Moscow stuffed the tank with six tonnes of explosives before attempting to blow up Ukrainian soldiers by sending it to Kyiv territory using autopilot.

However, their plan backfired when the remotely-controlled suicide bomb blew up on a landmine around 100 metres from the front line.

The T-54 was then finished off by a Ukrainian RPG, triggering a massive explosion on the battlefield as the tank bursts into flames and was destroyed. 

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 into the front line.

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 counter on June 4, Ukraine’s efforts have yielded a mixed response. Reports they have recaptured Piatykhatky, in the southern Zapororizhzhia region, yesterday would be their first village gain in almost a week.

Moscow is using its dense minefields and superior air power, while exploiting Kyiv’s limited air defences to stem several counter attacks, but crucially is also destroying sophisticated Western artillery.

On Saturday, the UK’s Ministry of Defence revealed Russia had strengthened its attack helicopters in occupied Berdyansk, around 60 miles behind the front line. 

The Russian defence ministry has claimed to have used this potentially devastating method of destruction on at least one occasion before. They posted footage, above, of a soldier placing explosives in a tank 

A Ukrainian soldier of the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade fires towards Russian positions at the front line near the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on June 17

Ukraine’s counter has yielded a mixed response. Here a serviceman raises a Ukrainian flag in the newly liberated village of Blahodatne

Servicemen of the 68th Oleksa Dovbush Separate Jaeger Brigade walk next to a house of culture in the newly liberated village of Blahodatne

A Ukrainian tank fires toward Russian positions at the front line near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on Saturday

Britain said more than 20 additional helicopters had been deployed their as Moscow bolster their defence.

Helicopters have successfully fired missiles at Ukrainian ground targets which have had limited protection, the MoD added. 

‘In the constant contest between aviation measures and counter-measures, it is likely that Russia has gained a temporary advantage in southern Ukraine,’ the MoD said on Twitter.

Russian bloggers have continually gloated over photos of burnt-out Western tanks but the Ministry of Defence say that Russian losses are likely at their highest since March.

‘Both sides are suffering high casualties, with Russian losses likely the highest since the peak of the battle for Bakhmut in March,’ it said.

Ukraine’s capture of Piatykhatky yesterday, revealed by Kremlin-installed official Vladimir Rogoz, was their first on the Zaporizhzhia front since launching its counter. Moscow later denied it had been recaptured.

Previous successes have come further east, on the western edge of the Donetsk region, where Ukraine claim to have recaptured a handful of villages.

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