Russia to show off captured Western vehicles during Victory Day celebrations

The Telegraph: Russia will showcase captured British armoured vehicles alongside a haul of seized Nato equipment in Moscow to coincide with its Victory Day celebrations commemorating the end of the Second World War.

The month-long exhibition will feature 30 different vehicles from 12 countries, including German Leopard 2 tanks and American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles seized on the battlefields of Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry said.

Footage of the line-up of Western hardware shared on social media appeared to show a British-donated Mastiff and Husky armoured vehicles, the latter adorned with the British and Nato flags.

A Russian soldier looks at a British Mastiff armoured vehicle, which was captured in Ukraine - Getty Images

Unverified video shared by Russian sources also purports to show the wreckage of an American-made Abrams main battle tank that was recently captured in fighting near the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka being transported to be displayed in Moscow’s Victory Park.

Victory Park is an open-air museum in the Russian capital opened to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

But in recent years it has become a homage to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, celebrating claimed successes “against Ukrainian militants and their Western supporters”.

The Russian defence ministry said the new display would contain “vehicles and small arms from foreign armies, combat documents, maps, ideological literature and equipment”.

Other vehicles to be showcased include the Swedish CV90 fighting vehicle, the French AMX-10 mini tank and a British Saxon armoured personnel carrier, which was donated to Kyiv in 2015.

A correspondent from the Zvezda Russian military channel praised the condition of a captured German-made Marder fighting vehicle, claiming: “It is in almost perfect condition, but you can see slight dents from impacts, probably from FPV [first person-view] drones.”

A similar event was held last year at Patriot Park near Moscow, where Russia also showcased a series of captured Western military equipment, likely lost by Ukraine during its summer counter-offensive.

M113 carriers on display

On display were American-made M113 armoured personnel carriers, which will also be featured in this year’s exhibition, and an intact, cruise missile.

Kyiv’s forces lost a number of vehicles that became bogged down in vast Russian minefields and were eventually abandoned by Ukrainian troops retreating under heavy Russian artillery and drone bombardments.

The Telegraph cannot confirm whether the equipment on display this year was newly captured.

Ukrainian forces recently withdrew their fleet of Abrams tanks from the frontline after five confirmed losses, US officials said.

Ukraine’s 47th Brigade, the only unit to operate the American tanks, disputed this claim.

Russian state media has filmed the wreckage of what appears to be an Abrams, its tracks blown off and its hull charred from a likely drone hit, being towed behind a Soviet-era tank.

Pro-Kremlin sources suggested that it was being taken to Moscow as part of the celebrations.

The tank was said to have been captured following the recent battle of Berdychi, a village to the West of Avdiivka, which Ukrainian forces withdrew from over the weekend.

Ukraine has also put destroyed Russian tanks on display in central Kyiv, but its forces normally repurpose captured vehicles for use on the battlefield.