Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
These images reportedly show the moment Ukrainian forces locate and destroy a Russian self-propelled artillery unit hiding among some trees.
The footage, which appears to have been sped up, begins with an explosion occurring in what appears to be a small village, with the camera then apparently searching for a target.
It soon identifies an enemy vehicle, which has been described as a self-propelled artillery unit.
Ukrainian forces then appear to open fire on it, with artillery shells landing near it. Eventually one of them appears to score a direct hit, blowing the enemy unit to smithereens.
It is unclear where exactly in Ukraine the images were filmed, but the footage was obtained from the 40th Separate Artillery Brigade – officially the ’40th Separate Artillery Brigade named after Grand Duke Vytautas’ – and the Strategic Communications Department of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Wednesday, 22nd June.
The 40th Separate Artillery Brigade is usually based in Pervomaisk, a city in the Mykolaiv Oblast region of southern Ukraine.
The Strategic Communications Department (StratCom) said that the footage shows “the 40th Separate Artillery Brigade named after the Grand Duke destroying the occupiers’ self-propelled artillery.”
Self-propelled artillery units are typically mobile military vehicles that look like tanks but have much longer guns. They often have caterpillar tracks but usually take part in long-range bombardment support operations when on the battlefield.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 119th day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 22nd June, Russia had lost about 34,230 personnel, 1,496 tanks, 3,614 armoured combat vehicles, 752 artillery units, 239 multiple launch rocket systems, 99 air defence systems, 216 warplanes, 182 helicopters, 614 drones, 137 cruise missiles, 14 warships, 2,543 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 60 units of special equipment.
The Ukrainian military has said that it has launched airstrikes on Zmiinyi Island, which is also known as Snake Island, causing “significant losses” to Russia’s forces there in an operation that it says is ongoing.
Russia has conducted an anti-ship missile exercise in the Baltic Sea amid escalating tensions with NATO member Lithuania after the country blocked the transit of goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Russian Foreign Ministry press secretary Maria Zakharova has said that Moscow’s response to Lithuania banning the transit of goods, sanctioned by the EU, to Kaliningrad will not only be diplomatic but also practical.
Ukrainian forces have said that they have been successfully thwarting fresh Russian attempts to advance in the Kharkiv region of north-eastern Ukraine, but Russian forces have captured several settlements near Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk, with 568 civilians believed to still be sheltering in Sievierodonetsk’s Azot chemical plant.
Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, has urged locals in the Kherson region to evacuate, to help Ukrainian forces “deoccupy” the area.
British intelligence has claimed that the pro-Russian, so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) may have lost about 55 per cent of its original forces.
President Zelenskyy said that a “historic week” has begun as Kyiv awaits a decision from Brussels regarding its EU candidate status, with the EU expected to approve the application by the end of the week.
This comes after the European Parliament adopted a resolution recommending that the European Union grant Ukraine the status of candidate country for EU membership. Some 438 MEPs voted in favour of the resolution, with 65 voting against and 94 abstaining.
Zelenskyy, speaking to the African Union on Monday, 20th June, also accused Russia of holding Africa “hostage” over grain and fertiliser shortages.
