These images show Ukrainian soldiers pushing back a Wagner mercenary offensive on Soledar.

The footage shows a group of Wagner mercenaries being targeted by Ukrainian firepower and taken out.

Ukrainian drone footage shows the Wagner mercenaries taking cover near a slope before the Ukrainian forces opened fire on them with a heavy machine gun.

The Wagner troops scramble behind a wall for cover, leading the Ukrainian soldiers to open fire on them with heavy ordnance.

The footage ends with explosions targeting the area and lifeless bodies belonging to the Wagner mercenaries seen strewn across the battlefield.

The images were obtained from the State Border Service of Ukraine on Wednesday, 11th January, along with a statement saying: “Units of the State Border Service as part of the Defence Forces of Ukraine carry out combat missions in the Bakhmut direction.

“Thus, at the beginning of January, the border guards, together with the units of one of the mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, restrained the enemy offensive on Soledar.

“Border aerial reconnaissance detected the movement of an enemy infantry group. Border guards reported information about enemy movements to the command post of the Defence Forces and monitored enemy actions in real time.

“Approaching the positions of our defenders, the Wagnerites came under crossfire. The enemy suffered losses and was pressed to the ground by fire from large-calibre machine guns. The defeat of the invaders in this direction was completed by an accurate artillery strike, which also corrected the ‘birds’ of the border guards.”

The images and statement were also relayed by the Joint Forces Task Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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”.