The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has said that it has used a BMP and an SPG-9 gun against Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, as these images purport to show.
The footage shows the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) BMP manoeuvring into position before it can be seen opening fire on unseen targets.
It can then be seen manoeuvring away to avoid return fire.
The images then show DPR soldiers setting up the SPG-9 gun before they can be seen opening fire with it and manoeuvring away to avoid return fire.
The images were obtained from the People’s Militia of the DPR on Sunday, 19th February, along with a statement claiming: “Servicemen of the 1st Donetsk Army Corps constantly strike at the enemy forces using all available fire weapons. BMP-1 crews and SPG-9 crews fire at enemy equipment, infantry concentrations and enemy fortifications, creating conditions for the infantry to move forward.”
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 365th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 23rd February 2023, Russia had lost about 145,850 personnel, 3,350 tanks, 6,593 armoured combat vehicles, 2,352 artillery units, 471 multiple launch rocket systems, 244 air defence systems, 299 warplanes, 287 helicopters, 2,029 drones, 873 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 5,215 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 228 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
US President Joe Biden has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a “big mistake” by suspending Russia’s participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty.
Russia’s parliament approved Putin’s move to suspend the treaty on Wednesday.
The US government is reportedly considering releasing information that it thinks shows that China is considering whether to supply weaponry to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called it “an affront to our collective conscience” at a meeting of the General Assembly in New York.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the Ukrainian head of the regional military administration in Kherson, has said that an 81-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man were killed during Russian shelling of the village of Novotyahinka on Wednesday.
President Biden has said that the United States will defend “literally every inch of NATO” territory.
Biden was speaking ahead of a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the leaders of the Bucharest 9 (B9), the most eastern nations of NATO’s Alliance and the closest to Russia’s borders.
Wang Yi, China’s most senior diplomat, has met Putin in Moscow, with China and Russia reaffirming their close relationship.
Wang reportedly told Putin that China will play a “constructive” role in reaching a political settlement on Ukraine, according to Russian state-owned TASS news agency.
Putin has praised Russia’s soldiers, who he said are fighting “heroically, courageously, bravely” to “defend the Fatherland”. He was speaking at a rally in Moscow to mark a year of war in Ukraine.
UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace has said that Britain has begun to “warm up” production lines to replace weaponry sent to Ukraine and to increase artillery shell production.
The US-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said that it is likely in the future that Russia will control Belarus and that NATO must “seriously plan” for this.
The ISW said that Putin will “very likely secure significant gains in restoring Russian suzerainty over Belarus” and that it is likely that he will use it as a basis to further threaten Ukraine and NATO’s eastern members.
