Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle donated by the Australian government as part of military aid to Ukraine has reportedly been destroyed by Russia in fighting on the border between Donetsk and Luhansk.
A video of a wrecked Australian Bushmaster armoured vehicle in Ukraine has surfaced on social media. Photos and videos which are available on social media show that, depict a Bushmaster vehicle that was allegedly destroyed by Russian forces in Trypillia, Ukraine’s Donetsk area.
#Ukraine: The first verified loss of a Ukrainian Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle (with a EOS R400-Mk2 remote weapon station), donated by Australia.
This one was recently destroyed by the Russian forces in Trypillia, #Donetsk and #Luhansk oblast border. pic.twitter.com/wZ0iccKfHT— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) May 28, 2022
By judging the video Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle was equipped with a EOS R400-Mk2 remote weapon station. However, there are no information about the crew and whether they survived or not.
Earlier in April Australia sent 20 Bushmasters to Ukraine in April after a plea from Kyiv for weapons. The $2.45m machine was flew to Europe from Brisbane on a RAAF C-17 Globemaster. 20 vehicles, worth $50m, donated by the Australian government arrived in late April. They included two ambulance variants and came on top of $26.5m in military aid in the form of weapons and ammunition.
The Bushmasters, which had been undergoing refurbishment for another country for peacekeeping operations, were repainted olive green and fitted with radios, GPS, and additional bolt-on armour.
The Australian-produced Bushmasters are made in Bendigo and can deploy up to 10 troops in all environments and is blast resistant, according to the Army website. Its cabin design gives it the flexibility to serve many roles and has the ability to sustain them for up to three days.
The vehicle’s welded one-piece shell is designed to protect troops against small arms fire. Windows also carry similar ballistic protection. The Bushmaster’s fuel and hydraulic tanks are positioned outside the crew’s compartment to protect troops from possible fires.