- Eight Russian armored vehicles lie smouldering thanks to one Ukrainian soldier, Ukraine's MOD says.
- He took out five tanks and three other vehicles in a single day in Donetsk, according to Ukraine.
- A social media post of the apparent feat included praise for the US-provided Javelin missiles used.
Equipped with US-provided Javelin missiles, one Ukrainian soldier took out five Russian tanks in a single day, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The feat took place during a major Russian armored assault on Ukraine's 79th Air Assault Brigade outside of Marinka, just west of the city of Donetsk, a social media post by the brigade claimed.
During the fighting, the paratrooper took out the five tanks, as well as three infantry fighting vehicles known as BMPs. He did this by constantly switching up his position, the post said.
Supporting artillery destroyed a further four BMPs, according to the post.
A video posted by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence showed the alleged tank strikes:
—Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) February 28, 2023
Since the start of Russia's invasion in Febuary 2022, the US has supplied Ukraine with about 8,500 Javelin missiles — a powerful shoulder-mounted portable anti-tank weapon. They have quickly became a key part of Ukraine's defense.
The Ukrainian MOD's video post was accompanied by text that said: "American weapon in Ukrainian hands works wonders."
Marinka, which sits around 13 miles west of Donetsk city, has been subject to repeat assaults by Russian forces, and today lies largely in ruins.
The Ukrainian posts did not make clear when the alleged incidents took place, but they came amid reports of Russian forces trying to make progress around Marinka, as part of a wider objective to control the region.
Russian news outlet Readovka reported continued fighting around Marinka as of Monday, with the claim that Russian forces have dug in to the south of the city. It made no mention of losses.
Insider was unable to independently verify the tank claims, but an examination of one shot from the Ukraine MOD footage produced a plausible match with territory in and around Marinka, marked by two distinctive hill formations.
If verified, the strikes would put further pressure on Russia's supply of much-needed tanks, where demand is currently outstripping supply by a factor of ten, according to reports.
Open-source intelligence platform Oryx estimates that Russia is losing around 150 tanks a month, while its sole factory producing them can only make 20 in that time, as The Economist reported.
