These images purport to show Russian T-72B3M tanks destroying Ukrainian fortified positions and armoured vehicles.
The tankers allegedly fired at equipped Ukrainian firing points in dilapidated buildings on the outskirts of settlements somewhere in Ukraine.
In the footage, which was obtained by Newsflash from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 22nd December, crew tanks can be seen setting out to an alleged combat zone alongside a white-‘Z’-daubed military vehicle.
The ‘Z’ is one of the symbols, as well as the letters ‘V’ and ‘O’ that can be seen painted on Russian military vehicles taking part in the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian tanks then rain fire on ruined buildings that are allegedly fortified positions of Ukrainian forces before apparently heading back to base.
The Russian MoD said in a statement Newsflash obtained: “The crews of the T-72B3M tanks and the reconnaissance unit of the Southern Military District, during a special military operation, carry out the tasks of destroying firing points, fortified positions and armoured vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Scouts use small-sized unmanned aerial vehicles to search for, identify targets and adjust fire.
“Tankers advance to the indicated area and, in accordance with the received target designations, deliver pinpoint strikes on the enemy and destroy enemy armoured vehicles and residential forces.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 302nd day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 22nd December, Russia had lost about 100,400 personnel, 3,003 tanks, 5,981 armoured combat vehicles, 1,978 artillery units, 413 multiple launch rocket systems, 212 air defence systems, 283 warplanes, 267 helicopters, 1,693 drones, 653 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 4,615 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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Washington, DC to meet with US leaders on 21st December with a plea for military aid.
Zelenskyy called the tens of billions of dollars in US military and economic assistance to Ukraine an investment in democracy and “not charity”.
And the US Congress is set to announce an additional aid package for Ukraine that would include nearly USD 45 billion (GBP 37 billion).
The Kremlin warned that increasing the supply of US weapons to Ukraine would aggravate the war.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that Russia needs to prepare an “appropriate” response to NATO’s military expansion near Russian borders, including Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership aspirations, and proposed to expand the military.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that Russian forces had faced challenges with mobilization, lack of drones and new equipment.
The head of the local grid operator in Kyiv, Serhiy Kovalenko, said power outages in Ukraine’s capital remain the most difficult.
He added that the situation may improve if the remaining 40 per cent of transformers do not get hit in new attacks.
Moreover, heavy fighting has been going on in Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine, as Russian forces attempt to make further advances in the region.
General Staff spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said Ukrainian forces repelled attacks around more than 25 populated areas in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The bodies of seven civilians, including a teenage girl, were found in a mass grave in the village of Pravdyne in southern Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian defence minister.
In other developments, the former Russian deputy prime minister and former director of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, was wounded in the Ukrainian bombing of a hotel in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk.
