Ukraine ATGM Strike Destroys Russia's 'AT-6 Spiral' Anti-Tank System: Video

Battlefield footage has emerged of the apparent destruction of a Russian anti-tank system in northeastern Ukraine, an area that has been a hotspot of fighting in recent months as Russian forces push against Ukrainian defenders seeking a fresh breakthrough.

The footage, part of which was initially published by the Russianocontext Telegram channel last week, was purportedly filmed in March 2023 in the Luhansk Oblast settlement of Raihorodka, around 9 miles west of the strategic town of Svatove. The Telegram channel posted additional footage of the incident on Wednesday.

The videos open on what appears to be a stationary Russian Shturm-S anti-tank system—a Soviet-era SACLOS radio-guided missile system mounted on an armored chassis—which has the NATO reporting name "AT-6 Spiral." The footage shows a purported Ukrainian anti-tank guided missile flying towards the left-hand side of the armored vehicle before exploding.

Russianocontext published two videos of the impact, one shot by troops some distance from the Russian system, and another filmed by soldiers inside the "AT-6 Spiral" as it was hit and penetrated by the Ukrainian missile. It is unclear whether those inside the vehicle—some of whom in the video can be heard yelling to each other after the impact—survived.

Newsweek could not independently verify the footage and has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry by email to request comment.

The video was reportedly shot in March, while Russian forces were on the offensive across much of the eastern front. The heaviest fighting at that time was around the Bakhmut city of Donetsk, eventually taken—though entirely destroyed—by Russian troops led by Wagner Group mercenaries in May.

Heavy fighting was also underway in northeastern Luhansk and Kharkiv regions at that time, with Russian forces pushing on the Kreminna-Kupiansk axis in the hope of recapturing areas freed by Ukraine's Kharkiv counteroffensive operation in fall 2022.

The videos showing the AT-6 Spiral's destruction were filmed close to the frontline roughly equidistant between Kreminna and Kupiansk, the Russianocontext channel said.

Six months later, Russian forces are again attacking the Kreminna-Kupiansk axis as summer draws to a close.

The Russian offensive in this region has been interpreted by military analysts as an effort to distract attention and draw reinforcements from Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive operation in southeastern Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk. Kyiv's troops have wrought several small gaps in Russia's fortified defensive lines.

Ukrainian units—backed by Western heavy and light armor—are now trying to widen their offensive footholds and push deeper into Russia's defense-in-depth network, known as the "Surovikin Line" and named after former invasion commander General Sergei Surovikin who oversaw its construction.