Russian Forces Report Destruction of Rare STRV-103 Tank Near Kharkov

Rare Swedish STRV-103 Tank Reportedly Destroyed Near Kharkov

John Baker, Editor

21:59 07-06-2026

Russian troops reportedly destroyed a rare Swedish STRV-103 tank near Kharkov using an FPV drone. The vehicle is said to be the second confirmed S-tank loss.

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According to a serviceman with the call sign «Meteor», who heads the fire support element of Russia’s Sever group of forces, troops from the 11th Army Corps discovered and destroyed a Swedish-made STRV-103 tank operated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Kharkov front.

Meteor said the rare vehicle was struck by FPV drone operators from the 11th Army Corps during a combat mission in the Kharkov Region. The tank was reportedly located in a fortified position and was hit by a drone carrying a shaped-charge warhead.

As a result of the strike, the vehicle was completely disabled and could not be recovered or returned to service.

The serviceman noted that the STRV-103, also known as the S-tank, was developed in the 1960s and withdrawn from service by the Swedish Army in the 1990s. One of its most distinctive features is the absence of a turret. Instead, the 105-mm gun is aimed by adjusting the position of the hull through a hydraulic suspension system.

According to Meteor, this is the second confirmed case of a Swedish S-tank being destroyed during the special military operation. A similar vehicle was reportedly hit by a kamikaze drone in a forested area last autumn.

At the same time, official public records of Western military aid have not previously included information about the transfer of STRV-103 tanks to Ukraine.