This POV footage shows a Ukrainian assault group capturing a Russian trench in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine with tank support before pausing for a cigarette.
The Ukrainian military said it was “an ordinary six and a half minutes of ordinary fighters” with “no editing, no filters, no decorations” and “with blood, sweat, and smoke”.
The images were released in two formats, two short videos and a longer version including both of the shorter pieces of footage.
The short version first shows POV-style footage of a Ukrainian soldier exchanging fire with unseen Russian enemies, with a Ukrainian tank providing support to him and his colleagues. The Ukrainian soldier can then be seen giving a couple of ammunition magazines to a colleague. Gunfire can then be heard in the distance as the footage ends.
The second part of the short version includes drone footage showing the Ukrainian soldiers taking a Russian trench.
The long version runs for six and a half minutes and shows Ukrainian soldiers taking part in combat operations in their trench on the frontlines before taking the Russian trench and shooting a lifeless Russian soldier to make sure he is dead.
They can be seen opening fire on unseen Russian positions at the beginning of the footage before there is a pause in the hostilities while soldiers reload their weapons, smoke a cigarette and prepare for the next bit of action.
The POV-style footage then shows a Ukrainian soldier being handed ammunition magazines before the sound of gunfire can be heard breaking out in the distance.
There is laughter as a joke is exchanged before the serious business begins again after a pause. The footage switches to a drone filming the soldiers from above what appears to be a Russian trench.
They can be seen entering the trench, which seems to have just one Russian soldier lying in it.
One of the Ukrainian soldiers tosses an explosive device towards the Russian soldier, apparently to gauge whether or not he is still alive.
The Ukrainian soldier can then be seen shooting the body a couple of times with his assault rifle to make sure that the enemy soldier is dead.
The drone camera then pans around and shows what appear to be Ukrainian war machines, including a tank providing support to the infantry taking the trench.
Gunfire can then be heard in the distance, with the Ukrainian soldiers then smoking cigarettes as the footage ends.
The images were obtained from the K2 Combat Group of the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Monday, 30th March, along with a statement saying: “An ordinary six and a half minutes of ordinary fighters of the ordinary mechanised battalion K2 Combat Group of the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade.
“No editing, no filters, no decorations. With blood, sweat, and smoke. This is how we bring victory closer.”
They also said that the images were filmed in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
The images were also relayed by Operational Command ‘East’ of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Tuesday, 14th March, along with a statement saying: “Clearing captured enemy positions.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 384th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 14th March 2023, Russia had lost about 160,540 personnel, 3,484 tanks, 6,789 armoured combat vehicles, 2,519 artillery units, 495 multiple launch rocket systems, 260 air defence systems, 304 warplanes, 289 helicopters, 2,120 drones, 907 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 5,367 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 256 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 said that one person had been killed and three people had been injured after Russian forces shelled the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine this morning (Tuesday).
Zelensky said that “six high-rise buildings were damaged”.
He added: “The evil state continues to fight against the civilian population. Every strike that takes an innocent life must result in a lawful and just sentence that punishes murder.”
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, has said that Russia does not recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Peskov was being asked about the possibility that the ICC would soon seek to issue its first arrest warrants against Russian citizens regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The ICC is reportedly expected to open at least two cases for war crimes regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with arrest warrants expected to be issued for several individuals.
Russia and Ukraine do not currently agree regarding the extension of the Black Sea grain deal. Russia has said that it wants to extend the deal for 60 days, while Ukraine said that the deal should be extended for at least 120 days.
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has said in one of its latest statement that it had killed over 700 Russian soldiers in the last 24 hours. It also said that it had taken out 10 tanks, 15 armoured combat vehicles, 11 drones and 16 pieces of artillery.
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence has said that in recent weeks “Russian artillery ammunition shortages have likely worsened to the extent that extremely punitive shell-rationing is in force on many parts of the front.”
The UK MoD added: “This has almost certainly been a key reason why no Russian formation has recently been able to generate operationally significant offensive action.”
Xi Jinping is reportedly planning to visit Russia as early as next week. The Chinese leader is also reportedly planning to hold talks with President Zelensky for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Rade Basta, the Minister of Economy of Serbia, has called for sanctions to be imposed against Russia.
He said that Serbia, which has long had a close relationship with Russia, had paid a “high price” for delaying sanctions against Moscow.
