These images show Ukrainian special forces bombarding Russian soldiers with mortars in Bakhmut.
The footage shows a large number of Russian soldiers on the battlefield being hit by the Ukrainian ordnance, with some falling to the ground.
The images were obtained from the Command of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Saturday, 7th January, along with a statement saying: “Soldiers of the Ukrainian SSO [Special Operations Forces] near Bakhmut are clearly working on their goals.
“The video shows the result of the professional work of operators of the Special Operations Forces, who use mortars to stop Russian attacks on the routes to the city.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 320th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 9th January, Russia had lost about 111,760 personnel, 3,080 tanks, 6,147 armoured combat vehicles, 2,069 artillery units, 434 multiple launch rocket systems, 217 air defence systems, 285 warplanes, 275 helicopters, 1,856 drones, 723 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 4,809 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 183 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his country’s forces are repelling numerous attacks on the city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky said on Sunday night: “Bakhmut is holding on despite everything. And even though most of the town has been destroyed by Russian strikes, our soldiers are repelling constant Russian attempts to advance. Soledar is holding on, even though there is even greater destruction and things are very difficult.”
Russia has said that it has killed over 600 Ukrainian soldiers in a strike on the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk, but Ukraine’s military and the town’s mayor have rejected this claim.
Ukrainian officials have said that at least two people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine, with the Governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, saying that one person had been killed in strikes on Bakhmut, while eight others in the region had been wounded.
Russia and Belarus have reportedly expanded their joint military training exercises in Belarus. The move comes amid concern that Moscow is pushing its ally to join the war in Ukraine.
Demands for a special court to investigate Moscow for “crimes of aggression” against Ukraine have been backed by UK politicians across the political spectrum.
Germany and the United States have joined France and agreed to send armoured fighting vehicles to Ukraine in a move that is seen as a significant boost to the country’s military capabilities on the battlefield.
Ukraine has been asking its Western allies for tanks for months, but the request has so far gone largely unheeded, despite Germany taking part in a tank swap deal under which Ukraine is being provided with Soviet-era tanks from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Greece, which are then supplied with modern German equipment.
