The first "battle" of the Su-57, Leopard 1A5 for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and the Terminator BMPT heading to Ukraine: highlights from this week's Defense Express war coverage.

We invite you to explore the weekly events and materials overview, a brief description of which we have compiled for you in this article.

The Tactics of Air Cowards

The highly publicized Russian Su-57 aircraft of the so-called fifth (de facto 4++) generation was employed to target sites in Ukraine. However, the aggressors only dared to launch missiles from their own airspace. Out of fear of losing a specimen of their aircraft, which could have a significant impact if shot down by our air defense systems—akin to the sinking of the cruiser "Moskva."

But that’s not all in this story. It turns out that the new precision weapons for this new fighter (of which the Russian Aerospace Forces have managed to produce only a few) simply do not exist. Thus, the "stealth fighter" is used as a standard air platform to launch guided missiles from the Soviet era, suspended from external points. Well, as usual, "analogous to nothing." Details about this story can be found in our article.

Checking Another "Analogous Nothing"

The Armed Forces of Ukraine may soon have a unique opportunity to once again shatter another Kremlin myth about "Russian unique weapons." This time—regarding the tank support combat vehicle "Terminator."

An echelon with this equipment was spotted in the Bryansk region. In the photo, you can see four vehicles marked with tactical signs in the form of a "white circle."

One of the BMPT "Terminator" vehicles has a strikingly similar camouflage to the machines that were recorded in the 90th Tank Division of the Central Military District of the Russian Army, which received 8 units of BMPT "Terminator" in December 2020.

It should be noted that it was the units of the 90th Tank Division of the Russian Army that operated in the Brovary district of Kyiv region, where they suffered significant losses and retreated. During the fighting, the Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated the commander of the 6th Tank Regiment of the 90th Tank Division, Zakharov.

Sailors "to the shore"

The aggressor country continues its "covert mobilization," the methods of which are becoming increasingly bizarre.

Defense Express has learned from its sources that the command is offering sailors from the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation to voluntarily join the ranks of a new battalion tactical group designated for the rotation of the ground forces of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation, which are suffering losses in battles against the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This indicates that the enemy has completely exhausted its reserves for quickly replenishing losses in the units. The last time Russia used military sailors for land battles was during World War II, including when they had to disband crews from destroyed or blocked military ships. A few details can be found in our article.

German Leopard 1A5 for the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The ruling coalition in Germany has reached an agreement and given the "green light" for supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine. This statement was made by Bundestag member and participant in the parliamentary defense policy group, Markus Faber.

Just a few days prior, Rheinmetall announced that it was ready to strengthen the Armed Forces of Ukraine, particularly with Leopard 1A5 tanks. The information regarding the potential delivery of 50 such vehicles has already sparked considerable skepticism in society. It is no secret that the Bundeswehr adopted the Leopard 1 as early as 1965. How justified this skepticism is can be found in the report by Defense Express correspondent.

"Dance of Fear" from the Cockpit of Ka-52

The latest propaganda narrative from the Russian propagandists about the Ka-52 attack helicopter has raised even more questions regarding the actual combat effectiveness of this machine. Thanks to the first "release," it became clear that the Ka-52 can indeed be shot down by rifle and machine-gun fire, which penetrates the helicopter from all angles.

After the new "release," it became evident that Russian helicopter pilots are firing blindly. Specifically, from the cockpit of the Ka-52, a so-called "dance of fear" was demonstrated—when the helicopter raises its nose to increase the firing range of rocket projectiles. How the propagandists from Russia disgraced themselves is discussed in a separate article.