Russian television has aired footage claiming to show the seizure of a U.S.-built Bradley infantry fighting vehicle on the front line in Ukraine’s Luhansk region. The vehicle was allegedly immobilized by Russian fire and abandoned by its Ukrainian crew.
The capture of a functional Bradley, part of the batch supplied by Washington to Ukraine this year, is presented as an opportunity for Russian forces to identify vulnerabilities in the equipment.
The prime-time show on Channel 1 featured interviews with masked members of two recovery crews. They detailed a covert operation in the “grey zone,” approximately 500 meters from Ukrainian forces. The recovery teams, operating under the cover of darkness and thick fog, successfully towed the vehicle between minefields after an initial attempt to haul it out had failed.
The captured vehicle, riddled with bullet holes allegedly from Ukrainian drones, showcased stacks of heavy machine gun rounds and yellow-tipped cannon rounds.
According to one recovery team member, the Bradley appeared to be an upgraded version with a more powerful engine, enhanced “dynamic protection” against cannon-fire, and improved night-vision and fire guidance systems. The vehicle reportedly had only around 240 km (150 miles) on the odometer.
