German Leopard 2A4 Tanks Deployed to Defend Kurakhove in Donetsk Region

24 October, 2024 Leopard 2A4 tank of the 33rd Mechanized Brigade.

2023. Ukraine. Photo from the Facebook page of the Brigade

Leopard 2A4 tanks were deployed to defend the town of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region. The 33rd Separate Mechanized Brigade is carrying out combat operations with these tanks in the Kurakhove area. The brigade representatives said that recently the Russian invaders tried to advance south of Maksymilianivka village using BTRs-80.

They were spotted by Ukrainian reconnaissance drones.

Russian soldiers near the BTR-80 in the camera of the Ukrainian drone in the Kurakhove sector. October 2024. Ukraine.

Frame from video 33rd Brigade

The Russians noticed the drones and tried to hide from them near their armored personnel carrier. At the same time, a German Leopard 2A4 tank that was sent to counter the Russian military began firing its cannon at them.

"[They] were watching out the drone and missed the Leopard. These occupants gathered together and carefully watched the sky while the crew of our tank battalion was watching them," the military said. The 33rd Mechanized Brigade was formed in western Ukraine, namely in Uzhhorod.

The brigade was created in 2016 as a staffed brigade. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it was deployed and has been fighting in the Zaporizhzhia sector in 2023. German Leopard 2 tanks have been in service with the brigade since 2023.

The soldiers add additional protection to them in the form of Kontakt-1 reactive armor units.

Leopard 2A4 tank in the Kurakhove sector. October 2024.

Ukraine. Frame from video 33rd Brigade

The elements in the Kontakt-1 ERA protect armored vehicles primarily from anti-tank weapons. When an ERA unit is penetrated by a shaped charge, two protection elements inside the body of each unit detonate.

As reported previously, Ukrainian paratroopers managed to repel a Russian armored assault towards the town of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region.