These images allegedly show forces from the pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic using a self-propelled howitzer to fire at Ukrainian positions near Marinka in the Donetsk region.
The images show a 2S19 Msta self-propelled howitzer firing at unseen Ukrainian positions in a bid to keep the advancing Ukrainian forces in check, according to the People’s militia of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).
The images show the vehicle firing a number of shells, with the footage then showing explosions in the distance. The vehicle can be seen manoeuvring to a new location to escape return fire from the Ukrainian side as the footage ends.
The images were obtained from the so-called People’s Militia of the DPR on Thursday, 6th October, along with a statement claiming: “An ‘Msta-S’ of the Allied Forces suppresses the enemy in the Marinka direction.
“Allied forces continue to inflict crushing blows on the positions of Ukrainian militants. Artillerymen of the Southern Military District, using 152-mm self-propelled 2S19 ‘Msta-S’ howitzers, are destroying the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Marinka direction with precision strikes.”
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 225th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 6th October, Russia had lost about 61,330 personnel, 2,449 tanks, 5,064 armoured combat vehicles, 1,424 artillery units, 344 multiple launch rocket systems, 177 air defence systems, 266 warplanes, 232 helicopters, 1,047 drones, 246 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,854 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 134 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has apparently admitted how serious Russian losses are in Ukraine, insisting that he would “stabilise” the situation in the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which he illegally tried to annex last week.
Putin said: “We are working on the assumption that the situation in the new territories will stabilise.”
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is heading to Kyiv to discuss a plan to create a security zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is Europe’s largest. He said that he and his team were “on our way to Kyiv for important meetings”, adding that the need for a security zone was “more urgent than ever”.
Two people were killed after Ukraine’s south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia was reportedly hit by Russian missiles in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The Ukrainian regional governor, Oleksandr Starukh, said one woman died in the attack, with another person pronounced dead in an ambulance. He added that “at least five people were under the rubble of buildings”.
Starukh said that Russia had “fired seven rockets at high-rise buildings”. Rescuers are reportedly working to free people trapped under rubble.
Ukrainian forces are continuing to push their advance in the east and the south of the country, forcing Russian troops to retreat under pressure.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country’s military forces had made significant, rapid advances against Russian troops over the course of the last week, liberating dozens of towns in eastern and in southern Ukraine that Russia had previously declared to have annexed.
Ukraine’s Southern Command has said that its military forces have increased the country’s area of control in the Kherson region by between six and 12 miles.
Russia’s latest military failures are spilling over onto state television. Olga Skabeyeva, Russia’s top state TV host, recently asked a Russia-appointed official in Luhansk: “Why do we advance metre by metre when they advance village by village?”
And Roman Saponkov, a prominent war correspondent, said of Russia’s recent retreats: “I really don’t know what to say to you. The retreat… is catastrophic.”
Poland has said that it has asked the United States to install nuclear weapons on its territory amid growing fears that Putin could resort to using such weapons in Ukraine.
