The Russian Ministry of Defense released compelling cockpit footage on Telegraph of a KA-52 Alligator attack helicopter hovering over a field as a number of large vehicles cross a field in Ukraine, saying it shows “the destruction of foreign armored vehicles, including Leopard tanks” with the pilot celebrating: “Direct hit!”
The problem, according to the Associated Press, was that the vehicles weren’t the German-built main battle tank sent to Ukrainian defense forces. They weren’t even armored vehicles. Analysis shows the vehicles were two farm combines and a self-propelled fertilizer/pesticide sprayer, likely parked in the field by a farmer hoping pilots would not mistake the agriculture equipment for weapons like, say, a tank.
But like Trump supporters who refuse to believe expert analysis, Russia has maintained it destroyed Leopard 2 tanks, despite the images clearly showing the vehicles sitting elevated on four wheels, versus the tracked tanks that sit close to the ground.