These images show Ukrainian special forces taking out Russian troops near Zaporizhzhia using mortars.
The footage shows the special forces operation, with Ukrainian forces working together to take out Russian troops with mortars.
The images were obtained from the Command of the Special Operations Forces (SSO) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Wednesday, 15th March, along with a statement saying: “At dawn, two groups of Special Operations Forces, along with soldiers from one of the infantry brigades, set out on a mission.
“The goal is to destroy the enemy (preliminarily the marines of the Russian Federation), who dug in in the forest, inflicting maximum damage on their positions and equipment.
“One group goes into the ‘grey zone’. From there, the enemy should be attacked right under his nose. The second is to quickly set up a firing position on the territory controlled by us, it should cover the comrades who are in the “grey zone”. And also to work on other positions of the enemy until he recovered from the unexpected morning ‘greeting’.
“Reconnaissance drones adjust fire from the air. Maximum speed and coherence of work are required from each soldier. After all, the Russian military can raise their ‘birds’ into the sky at any moment.
And later the Russians do come to their senses and open fire…
“See how this story ended, the details of the mission, and footage of the real combat work of the SSO soldiers and their fellow infantrymen in our new video.”
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 386th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 16th March 2023, Russia had lost about 162,560 personnel, 3,504 tanks, 6,810 armoured combat vehicles, 2,539 artillery units, 503 multiple launch rocket systems, 265 air defence systems, 305 warplanes, 289 helicopters, 2,145 drones, 907 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 5,394 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 257 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Russia has said that it will attempt to retrieve the wreckage of a US military drone that crashed into the Black Sea after an encounter with two Russian fighter jets.
The US has said that the debris could be in waters so deep that any recovery would be impossible.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin held a rare phone call on Wednesday to discuss the incident.
Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, said that the incident was “being investigated”, while the UK Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, said Russia had acted “unprofessionally”.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said that the country’s ground forces had shot down a Russian fighter jet near the eastern city of Bakhmut.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence will reportedly start a new recruitment campaign in April with the aim of enrolling 400,000 soldiers into the Russian army.
Turkish officials have reportedly said that their country’s parliament is “highly likely” to ratify Finland’s membership bid to join NATO before the middle of April.
