These images show Ukrainian forces obliterating a Russian tank that was spotted destroying people’s homes in the suburbs of Bakhmut.
The footage shows explosions occurring in an urban area before the Russian tank is apparently hit by Ukrainian ordnance, with smoke rising into the air from a treeline on the edge of a field on the outskirts of the embattled Ukrainian town.
The images were obtained from the State Border Service of Ukraine on Wednesday, 25th January, along with a statement saying: “Units of the State Border Service of Ukraine, together with the Defence Forces, delivered striking blows to the enemy’s manpower and equipment in the Bakhmut area.
“So, the other day, the air reconnaissance unit of the border guards tracked down a combat vehicle of the aggressor country, which was hiding behind a forested strip and shelling the suburbs of Bakhmut. The occupiers drove from the tank into civilian buildings in order to destroy them.
“The border guards reported the location of the enemy tankers to the command of the Defence Forces in this direction. Comrades from the Armed Forces carried out a well-hit artillery strike on an armoured target. The shelling of the Ukrainian city did not go unpunished – a tank of the Russian occupying forces was destroyed.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 336th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 25th January 2023, Russia had lost about 123,080 personnel, 3,161 tanks, 6,307 armoured combat vehicles, 2,154 artillery units, 450 multiple launch rocket systems, 220 air defence systems, 290 warplanes, 281 helicopters, 1,902 drones, 749 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 4,967 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 194 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
The United States is reportedly set to begin a process that would eventually result in dozens of its M1 Abrams main battle tanks being sent to Ukraine, according to American media.
The government of US President Joe Biden is reportedly expected to announce a plan that would result in at least 30 of its M1 Abrams tanks being sent to Ukraine.
The revelation comes after reports emerged on Tuesday that Berlin is set to announce that it will send German-made tanks to Ukraine and authorise other countries to do the same.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reportedly decided to send at least 14 of his country’s Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and is set to address the German Parliament on the matter today (Wednesday).
Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the US, said the move was “another blatant provocation”, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said supplying Ukraine with Leopard tanks would “bring nothing good to the future relationship” between Germany and Russia.
The US and Germany had until now resisted internal and external pressure to send their tanks to Ukraine.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s Secretary-General, said: “At this pivotal moment in the war, we must provide heavier and more advanced systems to Ukraine, and we must do it faster.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that his country needed its allies to make a decision about delivering tanks to Ukraine, adding that the issue was not about five, 10 or 15 tanks, as Ukraine’s needs are greater, but about reaching long-lasting decisions on deliveries.
Fifteen senior officials in Ukraine have left their jobs since Saturday. Six of them face corruption allegations.
The move is widely seen as being part of Zelensky’s push to tackle corruption in Ukraine and is his biggest reshuffle since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of his country.
