Ukraine has shared footage that appears to show its military attacking and destroying Russian equipment in eastern Ukraine as the country’s long-awaited counteroffensive gathers momentum.
Ukraine’s “White Wolves”, a unit of the Ukrainian security service SBU, were involved in attacks on Russian positions and drove Moscow’s armed forces underground in the east of the country, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Saturday. The footage was apparently filmed by drones, and the military said they destroyed seven Russian tanks and 15 shelters in a week.
Newsweek has not been able to independently verify this footage and has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
A local resident walks near a damaged Russian tank in the northeast Ukrainian city of Trostyanets in 2022. Ukraine’s “White Wolves” were involved in attacks on Russian positions and drove Moscow’s forces in the east of the country, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, underground, said on Saturday. FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images
Ukraine frequently shares combat footage of destroyed Russian military equipment, including those attributed to its White Wolves unit.
On Saturday, Ukrainian media released footage allegedly showing the destruction of a convoy of Russian military vehicles in Russia’s annexed Zaporizhia region of southern Ukraine. Most of the international community does not recognize Russian control over the area.
“A convoy of military vehicles of the 83rd Brigade of the Russian Airborne Troops came under aimed fire from Ukrainian artillery,” Ukrainska Pravda reported on Saturday. Sharing the footage.
WARNING: The video contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing.
This comes at a time when the Ukrainian leadership is acknowledging that Kiev’s long-awaited counter-offensive has begun.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Kiev military had begun “counter-offensive and defensive operations,” without giving further details. Ukraine’s commanders are “all in a positive mood,” he told the media, adding, “Pass that on to Putin.”
“One can say with absolute certainty that this offensive has begun,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. “Ukrainian troops have not fulfilled the tasks assigned to them,” he added, according to a Kremlin statement.
On Saturday, This was announced by the British Ministry of Defense In the past 24 hours, there have been “significant Ukrainian operations” in the east and south of the country.
“In some areas, Ukrainian forces have probably made good headway and penetrated the first line of Russian defenses,” the government ministry said in its daily intelligence report. “Elsewhere, progress in Ukraine has been slower.”
The British Ministry of Defense said the performance of the Russian armed forces was “mixed”. They likely conducted some “credible” defensive engagements and recorded “frequent reports of Russian casualties.”
On Saturday, the Washington, DC-based think tank Institute for the Study of War said that on June 10 Ukraine’s armed forces launched counter-offensives “in at least four areas” on the front lines.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the day before there had been “unsuccessful attempts” by Ukraine to launch counter-offensives in Donetsk and Zaporizhia, as well as in the embattled city of Bakhmut.