The Russian military has released a video showing the first combat use of Stryker armored personnel carriers, which Ukrainians received from the American military.

The Russians have released footage showing a Lancet kamikaze drone hitting a Stryker armored personnel carrier believed to be used by the 82nd Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Interestingly, Russian military drone operators managed to film the strike with a second surveillance drone, and not only with the camera on board the kamikaze drone, but it “cuts” the recording immediately after the Lancet crashes into the American armored car.

Although it’s unclear how badly he was damaged, for one second (00:25) you can see in the footage how he appears to continue to hurtle forward. Oryx, a prominent independent site that tracks casualties on both sides of the war in Ukraine, has yet to confirm the loss of a Stryker vehicle by Ukrainian forces, but it is recent.

The first information that the government in Washington is considering the possibility of sending such armored vehicles to Ukraine appeared in American press sources at the beginning of this year, and on January 20, the Pentagon officially confirmed that it will transfer 90 Stryker vehicles to the armed forces of Kyiv.

The military in Washington then announced that, along with the Bradley infantry fighting vehicles transferred to Kyiv, they would provide the Ukrainians with two armored brigades for the offensive to liberate the territories occupied by the Russian armed forces.

What are Stryker armored vehicles

The M1126 “Stryker” armored personnel carrier is an armored personnel carrier for infantry troops, also equipped with weapons for fighting enemy forces. Stryker transporters are manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems, have 8×8 traction and are derived from the LAV III/Piranha III models.

Armored vehicles weigh about 16 tons, have a crew of nine servicemen and can carry up to 9 soldiers. As armament, the Stryker can be equipped with an automatic turret with a 12.7 mm machine gun or a 40 mm grenade launcher.

Other upgraded variants are also equipped with 30 mm autocannon turrets or anti-tank guided missile launchers.

The first video of the use of Stryker vehicles by the Ukrainian military appeared on social networks at the beginning of April, but at the time it was footage that was probably taken near the front, since the armored vehicles were not used at the time of the battle.

On March 28, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced that Ukraine had received these armored personnel carriers, and this was announced at the same time as the receipt of British Challenger 2 tanks donated by the London government.

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