Ukrainian spy drones find a vast “tank graveyard” ten miles inside Russia, underscoring the shocking magnitude of Putin’s casualties

SPY-DRONES have found a massive “tank graveyard” ten miles inside Russia – further underscoring the scale of Vladimir Putin’s battlefield losses.

Reconnaissance flights conducted by a Ukrainian intelligence unit stationed in a secret bunker near the border filmed dozens of badly damaged military equipment dumped in a field.

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Satellite imagery confirmed that there were no vehicles on the site of the village of Golovchino when Putin unleashed his invasion on February 24, and only a handful on March 17 when the botched invasion stalled.

The Sun has been granted exclusive access to join the Ukrainian team launching its Leleka drone into Russian airspace daily using a catapult.

Built in Ukraine, the device has a wingspan of 6 feet and can fly for up to two and a half hours.

We counted 57 military vehicles on the returned feed, including at least 17 main battle tanks. They seemed to be T-72 and more modern T-90.

There were at least seven self-propelled artillery pieces, including mobile MSTA howitzers, smaller 2S3 Akatsiya guns, mechanized bridges, armored fighting vehicles and two tank recovery vehicles.

The team commander – call sign “Ranger” – said the transport was towed to the site for repairs and abandoned.

He said: “All Russian vehicles coming to Ukraine will end up in a place like this. It’s a tank graveyard. A graveyard.”

Ukraine claims it blitzed more than 800 tanks and 2,000 armored vehicles – hundreds with British NLAW missiles and US spears.

The Sun saw dozens of burned-out tanks – most with their turrets down – on streets and in towns where Russian troops had retreated.

Many in the “graveyard” are believed to have hailed from the Sumy region, after President Putin ordered his humiliating withdrawal in late March to refocus on Ukraine’s Far East.

Working tanks and guns that made it back to Russia were shipped to join the Battle of Donbass.

A Ukrainian intelligence source said: “The fact that these tanks were left at Golovchino tells us that they are of no use to Russia.”

Sam Cranny-Evans of the respected RUSI think tank said the chaotic arrangement of vehicles on the site “shows they were rushed there”.

He said: “They are positioned somewhat haphazardly, as you would expect from vehicles that cannot move under their own power and that need repairs.”

Defense expert Joseph Dempsey of the London-based IISS think tank said: “The most logical assessment of this site is as a repair and/or salvage site for Russian ground force vehicles damaged in the conflict.

“Although the condition of each is unconfirmed, they appear to be in various states of damage or repair, with the crew and other access panels open or absent.

“While it is possible, some could return to service, others can simply be cannibalized for spares to bring others back into service.”

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