Russian BMP-3 Fortified With Wooden Logs Blown Up by Ukraine Drone: Video

A Russian armored vehicle kitted out with wooden logs for additional protection has been targeted by a Ukrainian drone close to the front lines in southern Ukraine, according to new footage.

In a video circulating online, a Russian BMP-3 tracked infantry fighting vehicle with wooden logs attached to its sides appears to be struck by a Ukrainian suicide, or "kamikaze," drone. One account sharing the video described the location as close to the Russian-controlled village of Robotyne, in Ukraine's contested southern Zaporizhzhia region.

Newsweek could not independently verify the details of this footage and has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian Defense Ministries for comment.

Reports of Russian troops trying to boost protection on their military vehicles emerged soon after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine got underway in February 2022. By early March, images of Russian convoy vehicles making their way through Ukrainian territory showed wooden planks placed on the vehicles' front and back.

Experts suggest a key advantage of Western-made tanks and military vehicles, such as those now used by Ukraine, is that they favor heavier armored protection than vehicles designed for use by Moscow's armed forces.

Russia has used its infantry fighting vehicles, like the tracked BMP-3, to ferry its soldiers around in Ukraine.

At the start of the year, Russia had 4,150 operational infantry fighting vehicles, including 400 BMP-3s, according to Military Balance figures collated by the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.

According to Dutch open-source intelligence outlet, Oryx, which tracks visually confirmed Ukrainian and Russian military losses, Moscow's troops have lost 287 BMP-3 variants since February 2022. The true figure could be higher, as this count only includes losses supported with footage or images.

The Ukrainian village of Robotyne is close to the southern front line, where Ukrainian forces have been pushing on with their counteroffensive operations for the past two months. On Wednesday, Ukraine's General Staff said Russian forces had conducted air strikes around Robotyne and shelled more than a dozen settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Several Russian military bloggers claimed that Kyiv's forces had failed to attack Russian positions on the northern edge of Robotyne early on Tuesday morning, the Washington D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War think tank said in its latest analysis.

On Monday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukraine was consolidating its positions near Robotyne and the nearby town of Mala Tokmachka.