Russian Pantsir Missile System Appears to Malfunction in Fiery Video

A video of a Russian Pantsir missile appearing to malfunction and fire towards the person recording the footage has gone viral on social media.

The footage shows the Pantsir system successfully fire three missiles much to the delight of the person recording the video.

However, upon firing the fourth missile, instead of firing up into the sky, it is launched almost horizontally. The person recording is forced to scramble for cover before the video cuts out.

The men behind the camera are heard shouting "Again! Again" before swearing after the malfunction happens, according to a Newsweek translation.

Poland-based media outlet NEXTA posted the video to its Twitter page on Tuesday and it has been viewed more than 175,000 times.

"The Russian missile system 'Pantsir' is going according to plan. The moment when even the occupier's equipment hates the occupiers themselves," the page wrote as a caption.

Other Twitter pages have been sharing the video over the last few days. The same video had been viewed more than 330,000 times after being posted by the OSINTtechnical Twitter page the following day.

The video has also been posted on multiple Telegram channels over the last few days.

Newsweek has not been able to verify the date and location of the footage. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.

Explaining what went wrong, Defense Express, a Ukrainian military news site, said the last missile was fired when the launcher was trying to return to its starting position, but the missile launched before the tube was pointing up in the air again.

According to Defense Express, the Pantsir air defense system may have malfunctioned due to an error with its artificial intelligence capacities.

In 2020 the Pantsir-S family of air defense systems received an upgraded fire control system which allowed it to work in a fully autonomous way, without the need for interference by operators, according to the report.

This would allow the defense system to search, track, lock on and eliminate aerial threats.

Russian military officials confirmed that the software had features of artificial intelligence which was intended to help the commander respond quickly to massive air attacks by removing much of the human factor.

This video comes at a time of increased tension following Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that Russia would carry out a partial mobilization that will lead to more troops being sent to fight in Ukraine.

However, Ukrainian troops have continued to push forward as Kyiv pursues its counteroffensive to recapture seized territory.

Maps detailing Ukrainian advances show its forces moving north across the Siverskyi Donets river from areas east and west of the occupied town of Lyman, and east across the Oskil river from positions north of Lyman.

The British Defense Ministry assessed on Wednesday that over the last few days, Ukraine has pressed its offensive operations in the northeast of the country.

Its units advanced on at least two axes east from the line of the Oskil and Siverskyi Donets rivers, where forces had consolidated following their previous advance earlier in the month.