Ukrainian Special Operations Forces released a video purportedly showing a kamikaze drone taking out a Russian tank

A snapshot from a video purporting to show a kamikaze drone poised to strike a Russian tank. Image Credit: Screengrab/Ukrainian Special Operations Forces.

In a first for the Ukrainian military, its Special Operations Forces released footage of a foreign-made loitering munition, also known as a kamikaze or suicide drone, appearing to neutralize a Russian tank.

Ukraine's Special Operations Forces posted a 44-second video to Facebook on Tuesday showing an overview of a Russian position. A tank is then engulfed in an explosive fireball, which turns into a plume of smoke.

The video then pivots to a point-of-view angle that shows the scene from the drone's perspective as it barrels down toward the Russian tank. In the middle of the video, a green square is fixed on the tank and the Russian troops seated atop the armored vehicle, indicating the drone's target.

The screen goes black right before the drone hits the tank, as seen in the graphic video here.

"A modern kamikaze drone, armed with a strong bomb, went straight into the enemy tank, causing catastrophic damage," Ukraine claimed on Facebook.

The video was captured by a camera on the drone, according to Ukraine. It went on to say that the Russians in charge of the tank were dead. Since February, when Russia launched an unprovoked war against Ukraine, it has sustained massive loss.

The text "Executive Producer Switchblade" flashes across the screen at the end of the video.

Switchblade drones are loitering explosive-laden bombs. They can stay in the air until a target is determined before crashing into it and detonating the explosives, and they are one of the lethal-aid items provided to Ukraine as part of security-assistance packages.

The "video is published to the general public for the first time," Ukraine wrote on Facebook, "but it is worth mentioning that the combat employment of kamikaze UAVs is a frequent practice."

"This is an excellent example of how foreign partners' assistance combined with our soldiers' training and professionalism yield beneficial outcomes at the front," the post added.

Ukraine used instrumental music from "Star Wars" in the background of the video leading up to the strike. The soundtrack switches to the theme song from the American sitcom "Curb Your Enthusiasm" once the screen goes black.

Ukraine has repeatedly released propaganda videos showing various strikes on Russian forces and locations set to a wide variety of music throughout Russia's three-month war, which can be interpreted as an attempt to normalize the death of invading Russian troops.

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