Dramatic footage has emerged of the moment two Russian tanks took a direct hit from bombs secretly dropped by a Ukrainian drone.
Expertly flown by an operator believed to be from Ukraine’s 503rd Marine Battalion, the drone flew over two Russian Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) at an estimated altitude of about 400 feet before releasing its payload.
Five seconds later, the anti-tank shells detonated, engulfing the IFVs in two huge fireballs.
Ukrainian forces used drones to great effect during the Russian invasion, expertly conducting small-scale airstrikes and using drone-mounted cameras to analyze Russian troop movements and prepare ambushes.
It’s unclear where the drone strike took place, although Radio Liberty reported in February that the 503rd Marine Battalion was deployed to the Donbass region of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has intensified amid a major Russian offensive.
So far, an estimated 23,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in just nine weeks of war, Ukraine’s land forces reported today.
A Russian armored vehicle can be seen in the middle of seconds before being hit by a grenade dropped by a Ukrainian drone (the tip of the grenade is pictured below).
The vehicle bursts into flames on impact after being hit by the grenade, which was expertly dropped by a drone operator who was flying his device about 120 meters above the ground
Ukrainian forces used drones to great effect during the Russian invasion, expertly conducting small-scale airstrikes and using drone-mounted cameras to analyze Russian troop movements and prepare ambushes (the burnt-out hull of a Russian tank is pictured northeast of Kyiv).
Ukraine’s land forces reported today that an estimated 23,000 Russian soldiers have been killed so far in just nine weeks of war (Valentyna Sherba, 68, stands next to a Russian tank in the backyard of her father’s house, both destroyed, in after a battle between Russian and Ukrainian forces on outskirts of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, Saturday, April 23, 2022)
Pictured: explosives believed to be Ukrainian RKG-1600 shells. These explosives are based on Swiet-era anti-tank grenades and were adapted by the Ukrainian military to be dropped from drones – although it’s unclear if these are the explosives used to destroy the two Russian vehicles
Russia is believed to have suffered heavy casualties in the eastern Donbass region, while Ukrainian forces continue their fierce defense of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, which have been partially occupied by Moscow-backed separatists since 2014.
Russia’s military leaders are pouring troops and equipment into eastern Ukraine to force a bloody victory after abandoning plans earlier in the war to blitz through northern Ukraine and capture Kyiv.
The UK MoD today said Putin’s troops in the east are still struggling to gain ground despite renewed support, citing poor tactics and the use of under-skilled troops as reasons for the slow progress.
“There are still shortcomings in Russian tactical coordination. A lack of unit-level capabilities and inconsistent air support have left Russia unable to fully utilize its combat mass, despite local improvements,” the Defense Ministry tweeted.
“Russia hopes to address problems that previously limited its invasion by geographically concentrating combat power, shortening supply lines, and simplifying command and control,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military continues to launch attacks behind Russian lines to cut off vital supply routes, with a fuel depot in the Donetsk region catching fire today.
Kyiv has not admitted to carrying out any of the attacks – which have also struck railway bridges and ammunition depots – but is widely believed to be orchestrating them.
In addition to the 23,000 soldiers lost in combat, Russia has reportedly lost 986 tanks, 2,418 armored vehicles, 189 aircraft, 155 helicopters, and 73 anti-aircraft missile units.
However, Russia has continued its brutal bombardment of the southern port city of Mariupol, where a small battalion of Ukrainian fighters is trying to evacuate desperate civilians from the Azovstal Steel Plant.
The UK MoD today said Putin’s troops in the east are still struggling to gain ground despite renewed support, citing poor tactics and the use of under-skilled troops as reasons for the slow progress.
Russian soldiers guard the territory of the Mariupol cargo seaport. Russia has continued its brutal bombardment of the southern port city, where a small battalion of Ukrainian fighters is trying to evacuate desperate civilians from the Azovstal Steel Plant
Of the 450,000 people who lived in Mariupol before the Russian invasion on February 24, only about 100,000 still live in the city’s bombed ruins.
But Russia’s attacks are now focused on the Soviet-era steelworks near the port — the only part of the city that isn’t occupied — where a small contingent of 1,000 to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers is putting up a desperate resistance alongside about 1,000 civilians.
Ukrainian soldiers hiding in the network of tunnels and rooms beneath the facility have repeatedly requested international assistance and safe passage for evacuation and adequate medical care.
United Nations humanitarian spokesman Saviano Abreu said the world body was negotiating with authorities in Moscow and Kyiv to organize a ceasefire.
“There are currently ongoing high-level talks with all governments, Russia and Ukraine to ensure you can rescue civilians and support the evacuation of civilians from the facility,” Abreu said today, but he could not provide details of the ongoing evacuation effort “due to the complexity and fluidity of the operation”.
Ukraine has blamed the failure of numerous previous evacuation attempts on continued Russian shelling.
Russia has continued its brutal bombardment of the southern port city of Mariupol (pictured), where a small battalion of Ukrainian fighters is trying to evacuate desperate civilians from the Azovstal Steel Plant
People attend a rally calling on international leaders to organize a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of Ukrainian military and civilians from Mariupol amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, April 30, 2022
Russia’s attacks are now focused on the Soviet-era steelworks (pictured) near the port – the only part of the city that is not occupied – where a small contingent of 1,000 to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers alongside about 1,000 are putting up a desperate resistance civilians
Smoke rises from the site of the Azovstal Steel Plant in the city of Mariupol April 29, 2022 amid ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine
The fierceness of the fighting and the plight of the civilians hiding at the Azovstal factory stunned the world and brought Pentagon press secretary John Kirby to tears on Friday.
“It’s hard to see what [Putin] is doing in Ukraine what its forces are doing in Ukraine and thinks any ethical, moral person could justify it,” Kirby, a retired rear admiral, told reporters.
“It’s difficult to look at some of the images and imagine that any thoughtful, serious, mature leader would do that. So I can’t talk to his psychology. But I think we can all talk about his depravity.’
A vast underground network of tunnels and bunkers has provided relative protection from air raids for civilians and militants hiding in the steelworks.
But the situation has gotten worse in recent days after the Russians dropped “bunker busters” and other bombs on the plant, the city’s mayor Vadym Boychenko said on Friday.
Women whose husbands are trapped at the facility with the Azov regiment said they feared soldiers would be tortured and killed if left behind and captured.