This footage shows snipers, grenade launchers and tankers of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus conducting joint military exercises.

The exercises were allegedly being held at the Brestsky training ground in Belarus.

Grenade launchers appear to be working in cooperation with snipers in this footage Newsflash obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 23rd December.

While some can be seen firing at armoured vehicles, others are seemingly destroying the manpower of a mock enemy in freezing-cold conditions.

The Russian MoD said in a statement Newsflash obtained: “At the Brestsky training ground, military personnel, in the course of joint combat training, work out elements of tactical, fire, medical, engineering training, as well as driving combat vehicles over rough terrain.”

The statement quotes a Russian sniper who participated in the exercises, code-named “Levitan”, as saying: “In addition to constant shooting, a sniper must also be a smart and trained person.

“To be able to quickly and timely determine the distance, calculate corrections for the wind, know all the formulas for this, make corrections in your sight and fire that single shot.

“Here we are becoming professional snipers who can shoot confidently at a distance.”

The Russian MoD added: “There is also an active training of tankers at the training ground.

“They fulfill several standards at once – for loading ammunition, transferring the tank to a combat position, reconnaissance and target detection.”

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 303rd day of the invasion.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 23rd December, Russia had lost about 100,950 personnel, 3,005 tanks, 5,986 armoured combat vehicles, 1,984 artillery units, 414 multiple launch rocket systems, 212 air defence systems, 283 warplanes, 267 helicopters, 1,698 drones, 653 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 4,622 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 178 units of special equipment.

Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s call for an end to the war in Ukraine was called out by the United States for having shown “zero” interest in peace negotiations.

Putin said: “Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict but, on the contrary, to end this war.”

“Sooner or later, any parties in a state of conflict sit down and make an agreement. The sooner this realisation comes to those who oppose us, the better. We have never given up on this,” he added.

But the White House national security spokesman, John Kirby, said Putin has shown no willingness to negotiate and bring an end to the war conflict.

The US also claimed that the Wagner Group, a private Russian military company, received a shipment of North Korean rockets and missiles to support the invasion of Ukraine.

North Korea’s foreign ministry has dismissed the claim as “false” and “absurd”.

Spokesman John Kirby said in a press conference on 22nd December that Wagner has an estimated 50,000 personnel deployed in Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts recruited from Russian prisons.

Russia is slowly rebuilding the shattered Ukrainian port city of Mariupol while replacing or completely erasing everything Ukrainian in it.

The majority of Mariupol’s Ukrainian street names are being reverted to Soviet ones, while the Avenue of Peace that cuts through the city is to be renamed Lenin Avenue.

Germany’s government said that it has nationalized the energy company Uniper after the European Union approved for it to rescue the gas supplier and prevent energy shortage.

In other developments, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, met with Russian officials in Moscow to try and negotiate a protection zone around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

The nuclear plant has six reactors and has been on the frontline of the war since early March – when it got placed under Russian military control.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia may reduce oil output by seven per cent in early 2023 after European officials announced a price cap that is set to apply from 15th February.

Meanwhile, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said work is continuing to repair and defend Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, adding that the US is committed to standing with the government in Kyiv “for as long as it takes”.