Last week videos circulated showing multiple US-supplied M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles being destroyed by Russian mines and and anti tank guided missiles during counteroffensive operations in the Zaporizhzhia region.

We now have first-person GoPro helmet cam footage from the Bradley crew members showing the dismount and evacuation of the disabled vehicles. The Ukrainian soldiers shown in the video appear to be unharmed and return fire to suppress suspected enemy locations so they can load up on other vehicles and be taken out of the kill zone.

Main stream media outlets are reporting that Ukraine has "lost" 16 US-delivered Bradleys in recent days. It's not clear how many are recoverable or total losses. Ukraine was supplied with 109 Bradleys in previous months.

The loss of vehicles is to be expected as the battlefield is heavily mined and the terrain is open and exposed to enemy fire and observation. There is no element of surprise to be had. It's likely the Ukrainians will lose another significant amount of vehicles if the Russians are able to fall back in tact to their prepared defensive lines, approximately 10km to the rear. More mines, guided missiles, and preregistered artillery zones will meet the Ukrainian advances.

In spite of the losses, Ukraine has made notable gains in the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk. Ukraine also has eight or nine new combat brigades in reserve, that will either reinforce the current contested areas or probe new fronts for Russian weakness.

About the Author

Will Killmore

Will Killmore is a US Army combat infantry veteran and Purple Heart recipient. He has deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with the 172nd Stryker Brigade and 173rd Airborne Brigade. Following his time in service, he successfully pursued a certificate of journalism and has been a blogger for Funker530 since 2014. Follow Will’s bad takes on Twitter