These images show a Ukrainian sniper practising his sharpshooting skills by using Vladimir Putin’s face for target practice.
The video shows a Ukrainian sniper practising his sharpshooting skills by firing at a target showing Putin’s face using a high-powered sniper rifle, with the Ukrainians saying they would take the fight to the Kremlin.
The images were obtained from the Haidamaky Separate Special Purpose Battalion of the Ukrainian Ground Forces on Sunday, 12 March, along with a statement saying: “We practice shooting sniper rifles at the correct targets. Today at the training ground – tomorrow in the Kremlin.”
The images and statement were also relayed by the Office of Strategic Communications (StratCom) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 384th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 14th March 2023, Russia had lost about 160,540 personnel, 3,484 tanks, 6,789 armoured combat vehicles, 2,519 artillery units, 495 multiple launch rocket systems, 260 air defence systems, 304 warplanes, 289 helicopters, 2,120 drones, 907 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 5,367 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 256 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that one person had been killed and three people had been injured after Russian forces shelled the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine this morning (Tuesday).
Zelensky said that “six high-rise buildings were damaged”.
He added: “The evil state continues to fight against the civilian population. Every strike that takes an innocent life must result in a lawful and just sentence that punishes murder.”
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, has said that Russia does not recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Peskov was being asked about the possibility that the ICC would soon seek to issue its first arrest warrants against Russian citizens regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The ICC is reportedly expected to open at least two cases for war crimes regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with arrest warrants expected to be issued for several individuals.
Russia and Ukraine do not currently agree regarding the extension of the Black Sea grain deal. Russia has said that it wants to extend the deal for 60 days, while Ukraine said that the deal should be extended for at least 120 days.
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has said in one of its latest statement that it had killed over 700 Russian soldiers in the last 24 hours. It also said that it had taken out 10 tanks, 15 armoured combat vehicles, 11 drones and 16 pieces of artillery.
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence has said that in recent weeks “Russian artillery ammunition shortages have likely worsened to the extent that extremely punitive shell-rationing is in force on many parts of the front.”
The UK MoD added: “This has almost certainly been a key reason why no Russian formation has recently been able to generate operationally significant offensive action.”
Xi Jinping is reportedly planning to visit Russia as early as next week. The Chinese leader is also reportedly planning to hold talks with President Zelensky for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Rade Basta, the Minister of Economy of Serbia, has called for sanctions to be imposed against Russia.
He said that Serbia, which has long had a close relationship with Russia, had paid a “high price” for delaying sanctions against Moscow.
