Russia has said that it has fired at Ukrainian military positions using artillery.
The footage purports to show a Russian towed 152 mm ‘Giatsint-B’ field gun opening fire on Ukrainian military positions.
The images show Russian soldiers loading the weapon with ammunition before it can be seen opening fire on unseen targets.
A soldier appears to push the ordnance into the gun with the help of a long stick before it opens fire again. The footage then shows the gun firing again before the footage ends.
The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Friday, 17th February, along with a statement claiming: “Artillery crews of large-calibre ‘Giatsint-B’ guns of the Central Military District defeat the positions, equipment and manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“The battery strikes from covered and camouflaged positions.
“The duty crew of the gun receives the coordinates of the target and promptly begins combat work. The first shots are fired in the first minutes after receiving the target. Then comes the adjustment of the fire with the help of unmanned aircraft and advanced artillery reconnaissance detachments, after which the target is hit.
“The crews are staffed not only by contract servicemen, but also by volunteers who successfully carry out combat missions.
“After hitting the targets, the personnel of the battery leave their positions and take cover in the dugouts.”
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 359th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 17th February 2023, Russia had lost about 141,260 personnel, 3,298 tanks, 6,520 armoured combat vehicles, 2,322 artillery units, 467 multiple launch rocket systems, 241 air defence systems, 298 warplanes, 287 helicopters, 2,013 drones, 871 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 5,187 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 221 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 ruled out giving up any of Ukraine’s territory in any potential peace deal with Russia.
Zelensky reportedly said that giving up land would signify that Russia could “keep coming back”.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s notorious Wagner mercenary organisation, has claimed that Bakhmut will fall within a couple of months.
Russia reportedly fired rockets and artillery at residential districts in Bakhmut on Thursday, killing three men and two women. Nine other people were wounded.
This is according to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, who said that “criminal proceedings have been initiated”.
Russia launched 41 missiles at Ukraine on Thursday night, according to Ukrainian officials. The Ukrainian Air Force said that it had shot down at least 16 missiles.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence has said that Ukraine has returned 101 prisoners of war to Russia in a prisoner exchange swap.
The head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, said that 100 soldiers and one civilian had been returned to Ukraine in exchange.
He added that nearly all of the soldiers who were returned to Ukraine had defended the southern city of Mariupol before it fell to Russia.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Zelensky, has said that Russia has “definitely changed tactics” and is using decoy missiles that do not have explosive warheads as well as balloons to confuse Ukraine’s air defences and offer too many targets to shoot down.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that Russia “continues to introduce large numbers of troops” onto the battlefields of Ukraine.
He said that the new troops were “ill-equipped and ill-trained”, resulting in Russia “incurring a lot of casualties and we expect that will continue”.
Sir Keir Starmer, the UK Labour Party leader, has travelled to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv to meet President Zelensky, telling him that the United Kingdom will continue to support Ukraine if there were a change of government in the UK next year.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that it is expelling four Austrian diplomats after Austria took an “unfriendly and unjustified step”.
The move comes after Vienna said earlier this month that it was expelling four Russian diplomats who “engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status”.
The Austrian capital became a spy hotbed during the Cold War and is still reportedly considered to be a hotspot for international espionage.
The General Assembly of the United Nations is set to vote next week on a draft resolution outlining “the need to reach, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine.
