This combat footage shows Ukrainian Azov special forces soldiers storming a Russian trench full of Wagner mercenaries near Bakhmut and forcing them to retreat.
The Call-of-Duty style POV footage, filmed by a Ukrainian soldier from the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which is made up of Azov special forces troops, begins by showing a second Ukrainian soldier in the shallow trench as exchanges of gunfire are heard between the Ukrainian and Russian sides.
The images then show the Ukrainian soldier filming the action opening fire on the Russian position, which the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said was made up of Wagner mercenary soldiers, seen on the left of the screen attempting to advance along the trench.
The Ukrainian soldier filming the action appears to lie down, taking cover behind a mound of dirt next to the trench, with the images on the left of the screen, apparently filmed by a drone above the trench, showing the Russian fighters taking fire before turning around and retreating.
The Ukrainian soldier then shouts “Davay, blyad'”, which can be loosely translated into English as “Let’s f*cking do this!” or “F*ck, yeah!”, before he continues to fire at them.
The soldier then puts down his assault rifle before unpinning a grenade and tossing it towards the Russian soldiers and resuming fire as the footage ends.
The images were obtained from the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Tuesday, 14th February, along with a statement saying: “We storm the Wagners in Bakhmut. The enemy is in sight from the sky and on the ground.
“The 2nd Assault Battalion of the 3rd OSHBr [3rd Separate Assault Brigade] works.”
The images were also relayed by the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Wednesday, 15th February.
The 3rd Separate Assault Brigade is a mechanised assault brigade that was created in November 2022. It is made up of troops from the Azov Special Operations Forces (SSO) and includes veterans from the Azov Regiment.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 357th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 15th February 2023, Russia had lost about 139,770 personnel, 3,290 tanks, 6,507 armoured combat vehicles, 2,303 artillery units, 466 multiple launch rocket systems, 236 air defence systems, 298 warplanes, 286 helicopters, 2,011 drones, 857 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 5,161 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 219 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
NATO members are meeting in Brussels today for the final day of a summit to discuss military support for Ukraine.
Oleksii Reznikov, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine, has taken part in the discussions in Brussels and he said that his current objectives included the protection of Ukraine’s airspace, as well as “strengthening the tank coalition”, securing enough ammunition, and setting up further training for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, among other goals.
Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary-General of NATO, has urged members to increase the production of ammunition for Ukraine and cautioned that Russia was preparing for new offensives.
He added that discussions regarding supplying Ukraine with fighter jets were on the agenda but that it was “not the most urgent issue now”.
General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said that Russia has lost “strategically, operationally and tactically”, adding that Moscow was “paying an enormous price on the battlefield”.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said that he expects that Ukraine will carry out an offensive against Russia in the spring.
Austin added that while Russia is introducing new troops onto the battlefield, many of them are poorly trained and poorly equipped.
Austin also said that Russia had “inflicted a year of tragedy and terror” on Ukraine.
Boris Pistorius, the German Minister of Defence, said on Tuesday that while providing Ukraine with combat aircraft was not currently a focus, it would certainly be discussed and securing airspace over Ukraine is a priority.
He said: “Only when the skies over Ukraine remain safe over the next three, four months, then you can talk about all other further steps.”
Pistorius said that Germany has agreed with defence company Rheinmetall to resume producing ammunition for Gepard anti-aircraft guns, which Germany decommissioned from its own military in 2010 but which it has been providing to Ukraine.
Pistorius said: “We will quickly start our own production of Gepard ammunition at Rheinmetall. I am very happy we have been able to guarantee the delivery of this important part of air defence.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, the infamous Russian mercenary organisation, has said that the battle for Bakhmut, which Russia has been trying to take for six months, is far from over.
Prigozhin claimed Ukraine was reinforcing the area with up to 500 new soldiers every day.
He added: “Bakhmut will not be taken tomorrow, because there is heavy resistance and grinding, the meat grinder is working.”
Prigozhin also said: “We will not be celebrating in the near future.”
The White House has said that Russian forces have made some progress in the last days with their assault on Bakhmut but it is currently unclear if they will manage to take it.
The US National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, said that if Bakhmut were to fall, “it would not have a strategic impact on the overall war.”
A British national has died in Ukraine, according to the British government. Their identity is not yet known but that would reportedly make them the eighth Briton to have died in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war in February 2022.
