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First UK Challenger 2 Tank for Nearly 30 Years Destroyed in Combat, Zaporozhye Official Says

© AFP 2023 JAAP ARRIENSA Challenger 2 tank, this one belonging to the British army, seen during NATO drills in Estonia, May 2023.
A Challenger 2 tank, this one belonging to the British army, seen during NATO drills in Estonia, May 2023. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 06.09.2023
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Since the beginning of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which started in June, the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost about 66,000 servicemen and 7,600 units of various weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Monday. Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Ukrainian troops are not successful in any direction.
A Challenger 2 battle tank of the United Kingdom has been destroyed in combat between the Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Zaporozhye region, with the incident believed to be the first in the model's nearly 30 years of being in service, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporozhye regional administration, said on Tuesday.
On Monday night, a video showing a smoking Challenger 2 was published on social media. There had been multiple reports about destroyed Leopard tanks, but none about Challengers until now.

"The destruction of the first British Challenger 2 tank has been recorded. The Nazi battle tank was burnt in combat near [the village of] Rabotino in the Orekhov direction of the Zaporozhye front," Rogov said on social networks.

The Ukrainian tank crew is believed to have survived, media reported, citing sources in the UK Defense Ministry.
British media also reported that Challenger 2 tanks, which entered service with the UK armed forces in 1994, had never been destroyed by enemy fire in combat until now. Another Challenger 2 was destroyed in Iraq in 2003, although it was the result of a friendly fire, the reports said.
The UK has so far supplied Ukraine with a total of 14 Challenger 2 tanks.
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