Russia has said it has hit Ukrainian military positions using self-propelled guns and howitzers.
The footage shows the Russian war machines on the edge of a snowy forested area opening fire on unseen Ukrainian positions.
The images then cut to explosions occurring in a forested area, presumably on Ukrainian positions.
The Russian war machines can then be seen manoeuvring away to avoid return fire, with the footage then showing other Russian war machines deploying to a field and readying to fire.
They can then be seen opening fire, presumably on unseen Ukrainian positions before the images show explosions in a forested area near what appears to be a trench.
The Russian war machines can then be seen manoeuvring away to avoid return fire as the footage ends.
The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Tuesday, 28th February, along with a statement claiming: “Combat work of crews of ‘Msta-S’ self-propelled howitzers and ‘Giatsint-S’ guns of the Central Military District in the zone of the special military operation.
“Calculations of 152-mm ‘Msta-S’ self-propelled howitzers and ‘Giatsint-S’ guns of the artillery units of the Central Military District (TsVO) conduct daily fire raids to destroy manpower and equipment of the armed forces of Ukraine.
“The servicemen use the tactics of wandering guns, the crews fire 5-6 shots at the targets of Ukrainian nationalists and leave their positions.
“Adjustment of fire is carried out by calculations of unmanned aircraft. The well-coordinated and effective actions of the artillerymen of the Central Military District prevent the transfer of enemy reserves and support the offensive actions of our troops.”
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 370th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 28th February 2023, Russia had lost about 149,240 personnel, 3,388 tanks, 6,630 armoured combat vehicles, 2,383 artillery units, 478 multiple launch rocket systems, 247 air defence systems, 300 warplanes, 288 helicopters, 2,051 drones, 873 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 5,252 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 230 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 the situation is becoming increasingly difficult near the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut.
He said: “In the Bakhmut sector, the situation is constantly becoming more difficult.”
Zelensky added: “The enemy is constantly destroying everything that can be used to protect our positions for fortification and defence.”
The US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price has said that China has “very clearly “sided with Russia and has been “anything but an honest broker” when it comes to helping achieve peace in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that the Chinese peace plan was worthy of attention but the nuances in their proposal were important and he did not currently see signs suggesting that a peaceful solution to the conflict could be found.
He said: “Any attempt to formulate theses for reaching a peaceful settlement of the problem is welcome, but, of course, the nuances are important.”
Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian President of Belarus, is set to visit Beijing today, Tuesday, to meet with China’s President, Xi Jinping.
Antonio Guterres, the head of the United Nations, has said that the Declaration of Human Rights needs to be renewed, 75 years after it was first signed, because it is “under assault from all sides”.
He said that the “Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered the most massive violations of human rights” in the world today.
