These images show Ukrainian tanks taking out a group of Russian soldiers in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
The footage shows two soldiers heading towards a house before the area is hit by tank fire.
After a few near misses, the building suffers a direct hit, with at least six soldiers then seen running down a dirt road towards another building before that area is then hit as well.
The images were obtained from the 3rd Separate Tank Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Sunday, 16th October, along with a statement saying: “Tankers of the battalion under the command of an officer with the call sign ‘Alkut’ gave themselves a gift for the Day of Defenders of Ukraine – they organised a hunt for orcs.
“On 14th October, somewhere in the Donetsk region, a crew, where the commander with the call sign ‘Forest’ fired from closed positions, destroyed a group of barbarians who were hiding in houses.”
The images and statement were relayed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military regularly refers to Russian soldiers as “orcs”. ‘Defenders Day’ is a public holiday in Ukraine that is celebrated on 14th October. The event honours veterans and fallen Ukrainian soldiers and was first celebrated in 2015.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 236th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 17th October, Russia had lost about 65,320 personnel, 2,537 tanks, 5,205 armoured combat vehicles, 1,599 artillery units, 366 multiple launch rocket systems, 187 air defence systems, 268 warplanes, 242 helicopters, 1,241 drones, 316 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 3,969 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 144 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, has said that there is a “very severe” situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, with significant fighting taking place near the town of Bakhmut.
The Ukrainian military has said that Russian missile strikes had hit over 30 towns across Ukraine in the past day alone.
The Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom has said that Russia is “probably incapable of producing advanced munitions at the rate they are being expended”.
The UK MoD added that missile strikes as seen on 10th October, when Russia fired over 80 missiles, represent a “further degradation of Russia’s long-range missile stocks, which is likely to constrain their ability to strike the volume of targets they desire in future.”
European Union foreign ministers are set to discuss whether Iran has agreed to provide Russia with missiles and attack drones to be used in Ukraine, at a meeting in Luxembourg today, Monday.
The United States and its allies believe that Iran is supplying Russia but the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said in a statement “that the Islamic Republic of Iran has not and will not provide any weapon to be used in the war in Ukraine”.
The Ministry of Defence of Belarus has said that nearly 9,000 Russian soldiers will be stationed in the country to protect its borders.
Arup Banerji, the World bank’s regional director for eastern Europe, has said that poverty in Ukraine has increased by a factor of 10 since the beginning of the war.
