The so-called Donetsk People’s Republic has said that its snipers have shot a Ukrainian soldier who was spotted moving at night using thermal sights, as these images purport to show.
The footage, which appears to have been shot through one of the sniper’s sights, apparently shows the Ukrainian soldier being shot.
The images were obtained from the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) on Wednesday, 11th January, along with a statement claiming: “A pair of snipers from the 3rd Special Purpose Guards Battalion, using thermal imaging sights, discovered and hit a Ukrainian militant who was moving at night.”
We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 322nd day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 11th January, Russia had lost about 112,960 personnel, 3,094 tanks, 6,159 armoured combat vehicles, 2,078 artillery units, 437 multiple launch rocket systems, 217 air defence systems, 285 warplanes, 275 helicopters, 1,862 drones, 723 cruise missiles, 17 warships, 4,826 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 184 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
The leader of the Russian mercenary organisation Wagner has claimed that his forces have taken control of the Ukrainian town of Soledar.
Yevgeny Prigozhin said: “Wagner units have taken the whole territory of Soledar under control.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked the “heroic” defenders of the town but did not provide any new information about the military situation on the ground.
US and Ukrainian officials have said that Russia’s artillery fire has dropped by up to 75 per cent in some places on the battlefield, indicating a weakening of the Russian position in the conflict.
Western officials have said that Ukraine cannot retake significant swathes of territory from Moscow without a boost to its military capability, including tanks.
One Western official said on Tuesday that the Russian and Ukrainian forces are too closely matched for Kyiv to be able to launch a major offensive.
They said that a request from Ukraine for 300 tanks was “not an unreasonable number” in order to be able to launch an offensive against Russia’s forces.
US officials have said that Ukrainian troops are to begin training to use the Patriot missile system in the US as early as next week.
The training programme is reportedly expected to take “several months”.
