Russian media shows US armored vehicle with Russian, American flags storming Ukrainian positions (VIDEO)
A U.S.-made M113 armored personnel carrier bearing Russian and American flags was filmed storming Ukrainian positions in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian propaganda media outlet RT claimed on Aug. 18.
Allegedly sent by Russian soldiers of the 70th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 42nd Guards Division, the video likely shows an M113 that was supplied to Ukraine by its Western allies. and captured by Russian forces during fighting.
The video was shared by Russian propaganda media just days after U.S. President Donald Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in what Moscow cast as the end of its international isolation.
Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, condemned the video as "the height of insolence."
"Russians are using the symbols of the United States in their own terrorist, aggressive war involving the killing of civilians," Yermak wrote on Telegram.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the footage.
Russian propaganda outlets have increasingly praised Trump as a pragmatic peacemaker while portraying Ukraine, Europe, and the U.K. as obstructionist.
Russian media frequently amplify Trump's past claims that either President Volodymyr Zelensky or former U.S. President Joe Biden "provoked" Russia's war, a narrative that shifts blame from Moscow.
The RT footage appeared shortly after Trump praised his Aug. 15 summit with Putin as "10 out of 10," even though no peace agreement was reached. Trump said he and Putin agreed on "many points," including the possibility of territorial swaps between Russia and Ukraine.
In recent statements, Trump claimed Zelensky could end the war "almost immediately" if he agreed to concessions, making clear that Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO or reclaim Crimea under any deal he might broker with Moscow.
The footage was allegedly filmed in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where Russia is preparing to make a new push, redeploying troops from other sectros of the front, according to Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
About 70% of the region is under Russian occupation, including the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility.
Russia declared the illegal annexation of the entire Zaporizhzhia Oblast, along with three other Ukrainian regions, in September 2022, following sham referenda.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier demanded Ukraine's withdrawal from the Ukrainian-controlled parts of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson oblasts as preconditions for peace negotiations. Most recently, the demands have reportedly narrowed to Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
