Russia has said that it has destroyed a Ukrainian armoured vehicle with a precision shot fired from a Ka-52 attack helicopter, as these images purport to show.
The footage appears to show a Ukrainian military vehicle on the ground being hit by the Russian ordnance.
The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Tuesday, 27th June, along with a statement claiming (in English): “As always, right on point!”
The Russian MoD added: “Ka-52 reconnaissance attack helicopter launched a guided missile at AFU armoured vehicle. Vehicle has been destroyed along with personnel onboard.”
They also said that the images were filmed in the “South Donetsk direction”.
We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 489th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 27th June 2023, Russia had lost about 226,170 personnel, 4,036 tanks, 7,834 armoured combat vehicles, 4,083 artillery units, 626 multiple launch rocket systems, 386 air defence systems, 314 warplanes, 308 helicopters, 3,492 drones, 1,261 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 6,772 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 563 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 on Monday that his forces had “advanced in all directions”.
He added: “This is a happy day. I wished the guys more days like this.”
Zelensky’s comments come after reports emerged that Ukrainian forces reportedly establish a foothold near the Antonovsky Bridge on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson.
The Ukrainian president visited two frontline areas in eastern and southern Ukraine on Monday, handing out awards to troops and posing for pictures with them.
He said: “Thank you for protecting our country, sovereignty, our families, children, Ukraine.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given his first public address since the Wagner mutiny over the weekend led by Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Putin said that Ukraine and its Western allies wanted Russians to “kill each other”, adding that the uprising was “doomed to fail” and that Russia had shown “unity” in the face of the rebellion, which he labelled as “treacherous”.
Putin also said that he had granted Wagner fighters amnesty, saying that they could return to their families, sign contracts with the Russian military, or go to Belarus.
Prigozhin has released his first statement since the aborted mutiny, denying that he and his troops were attempting a coup, arguing instead that he was staging a protest and a “march for justice” regarding how his men had been treated and how the war was being conducted.
The United States has reportedly set up a USD 500 million package of military aid for Ukraine including Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker armoured personnel carriers.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that Wagner’s aborted mutiny had demonstrated that Moscow made a strategic mistake by starting the war in Ukraine.
He said: “The events over the weekend are an internal Russian matter, and yet another demonstration of the big strategic mistake that President Vladimir Putin made with his illegal annexation of Crimea and the war against Ukraine.”
Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative For Foreign Affairs, has said that the mutiny showed that Russia’s military power is “cracking”, adding that the “monster Putin has created is turning against him”.
Gitanas Nauseda, the President of Lithuania, has cautioned that NATO will need to strengthen its eastern flank if Prigozhin is exiled to Belarus.
He said: “If Prigozhin or part of the Wagner group ends up in Belarus with unclear plans and unclear intentions, it will only mean that we need to further strengthen the security of our eastern borders.”
