Ukraine uses mock-ups of Leopard 2 tanks to deceive the Russians

Russian troops seize a model of a Ukrainian Leopard 2A4 tank.

This happened in one of the sectors, and a Russian propagandist published a photo of the incident.

Initially, the photos were presented as photos of a real Leopard 2A4 Armed Forces tank of Ukraine.

“A damaged trophy German Leopard 2A4 tank,” the Sith’s Corner (Уголок Ситха – ed. rus.) propagandist wrote on his Telegram channel.

The post was later updated, and the author noted that he had made a mistake because the mock-up was so well made and believable that he could not distinguish it from a real German Leopard 2A4 tank.

It is worth noting that the production of mock-ups of military equipment and air defense systems in Ukraine is carried out using original dimensions and with high detail.

For this reason, the Russians often destroy mock-ups of such systems, mistaking them for real air defense systems, such as IRIS-T, NASAMS, and others.

In addition, Russians have repeatedly seized mock-ups of Ukrainian military equipment. For example, in March 2024, they seized a mock-up of the AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar.

The AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar mock-up shown here shows visible debris damage. Presumably, the Russians mistook this mock-up for a real radar and spent ammunition on it.

Russian Defense Ministry reports often include “destroyed” counter-battery radar stations.

It is not unlikely that many of these stations were such mock-ups.

Militarnyi previously reported that Ukrainian donors are supplying the military with Avenger anti-aircraft missile systems and IFV mock-ups.