A lone Ukrainian soldier shot down five Russian tanks in one day with US-provided Javelin missiles, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said.
The crucial encounter occurred during a Russian attack on Ukraine’s 79th Air Assault Brigade near the town of Maryinka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian paratrooper managed to knock out five tanks and three armored personnel carriers with the help of US anti-tank missiles, the brigade said.
The video shows the missiles hitting the Russian tanks, which explode and burst into flames.
The US has armed Ukraine with about 8,500 Javelin missiles since the Russian invasion erupted last February.
A lone Ukrainian soldier shot down five Russian tanks in one day with US-provided Javelin missiles, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry says
According to the military authorities, the paratrooper removed three armored personnel carriers, so-called BMPs, and five tanks
The Javelin missiles, best described as a powerful shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon, have become a key element of the country’s defenses
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine wrote: “American weapons in Ukrainian hands work wonders.”
The footage didn’t make it clear exactly when the strikes took place, but it emerged amid reports of Russians attempting to advance around Marinka to control the region.
Marina has been repeatedly attacked by Russian forces and is now in a state of ruin.
Russian news provider Readovka insisted that the invading forces had consolidated their positions south of Marinka and did not mention any casualties.
Ukraine’s claims have yet to be independently verified, but footage released today shows two distinct hill formations similar to those around Marinka.
The footage showed the aftermath of a Javelin attack that blew up a Russian armored vehicle
The attacks could be another blow to Russia’s already under-equipped military. A report by The Economist claims that Russia’s demand for tanks exceeds its supply by a factor of 10.
The Economist added that its single factory can only produce 20 tanks at a time, while 150 tanks are lost every month, according to open-source intelligence platform Oryx.
Ukraine yesterday said the situation around the besieged town of Bakhmut was “extremely tense” as Vladimir Putin’s forces stepped up their attack to encircle Ukrainian troops.
Russia is trying to cut off supply lines to the city, scene of some of the war’s toughest fighting, forcing it to surrender or retreat.
This would give Putin his first major victory in more than half a year and pave the way for conquering the last remaining urban centers in the Donetsk region.
“Despite significant losses, the enemy deployed Wagner’s best-prepared assault units [mercenary group]trying to break through the defenses of our troops and encircle the city,” Ukrainian Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi told a military news platform.
Ukraine’s military earlier said Russia has increased its forces in the Bakhmut area and is shelling settlements around the city.
Ukrainian soldiers are seen near an automatic grenade launcher at their positions as Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues in the frontline town of Bakhmut in Donetsk Region, Ukraine
As Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues on February 25 in the frontline town of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, a Ukrainian soldier walks on an empty street
Ukrainian military personnel are seen next to an armored personnel carrier near the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine
This video clip, taken from video released by the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade “Kholodnyi Yar”, shows an aerial view of fighting and destruction in the city of Bakhmut on February 26
“Over the past day, our soldiers repelled more than 60 enemy attacks,” it said earlier today, adding that Ukrainian forces repelled attacks on the villages of Yadhidne and Berkhivka to the north of the city.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said Russian forces drove a wedge between those villages when they tried to cut off the road west to Chasiv Yar.
“The southern part of Bakhmut is the only area that can be said to be controlled by Ukraine. In all other districts, the situation is unpredictable,” he said in a video comment, adding, “It’s impossible to say where the front line is.”
Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy said the situation in the city was “getting more and more complicated”.
“The enemy is constantly destroying everything that can be used to protect our positions,” he said, calling his soldiers there “real heroes.”
Analysts say Moscow’s victory in capturing the city would be mostly symbolic, as the salt-mining town has little strategic value.
This video snapshot from a gunfight by AFPTV shows an aerial view of smoke and destruction during fighting in the city of Bakhmut on February 27
Ukrainian soldiers ride in an infantry fighting vehicle near Bakhmut
A Ukrainian soldier looks through a broken window of a damaged apartment building as shelling continued in Bakhmut February 27
A destroyed and burnt apartment building in Bakhmut on February 27 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Russia is trying to cut off supply lines to the city, scene of some of the war’s toughest fighting, forcing it to surrender or retreat
Destroyed buildings are seen amid fierce fighting in Bakhmut on February 27
Meanwhile, in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian soldiers huddled in muddy trenches after warmer weather thawed the frozen ground.
“Both sides stand their ground because, as you can see, spring means mud. So it’s impossible to move forward,” said Mykola, 59, a front-line rocket launcher battery commander, who uses a tablet screen to check coordinates of where to fire.
The spring thaw known as Rasputitsa, which turns roads into rivers and fields into swamps, has historically ruined armies’ movements in Ukraine and western Russia.
Portal news agency saw several military vehicles stuck in the mud. In a zigzag ditch, Volodymyr, a 25-year-old platoon commander, said his men were ready to operate in any weather.
“If we are given a target, it means we must destroy it.”
Russia, whose armed forces have been bolstered with hundreds of thousands of conscripts, has intensified its attacks on the Eastern Front, but these come at a heavy price, Ukraine and its allies say.
“Vicious battles take place there. The command is doing everything to prevent the enemy from advancing through our territory,” Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Eastern Military Command, told the country’s television.
Russia said its forces destroyed a Ukrainian ammunition depot near Bakhmut and shot down US-made missiles and Ukrainian drones. Portal could not verify the battlefield reports.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the US was planning a provocation in Ukraine using toxic chemicals. There was no immediate US response.
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen became the latest senior Western official to visit the Ukrainian capital and, after meetings with Zelenskyy and other officials, pledged aid and further measures to isolate Russia.
President Joe Biden traveled there a week ago to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“America will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Yellen told Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, flanked by sandbags in the cabinet office.
A Ukrainian soldier in a trench near the front line as Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues February 27 in Donetsk region, Ukraine
A MLRS, Multiple Launch Rocket System, based on the BM-21 “Grad”, fires a missile near the front line as Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues February 27 in Donetsk region, Ukraine
Yellen announced the transfer of the first $1.25 billion of the latest $9.9 billion tranche of US economic aid and visited a school where US-funded teachers’ salaries are reimbursed.
She also supported the completion of a fully funded program for Ukraine with the International Monetary Fund by the end of March.
Ukraine’s armed forces have mainly focused on holding defensive positions in recent weeks, but are expected to attempt a counter-offensive later in the year using new weapons from the west.
Zelensky again pushed for F-16 fighter jets, which his western allies were reluctant to provide.
“We will be able to fully protect our skies when the aviation taboo in relations with our partners is completely lifted,” Zelenskyy said in his late-night radio address.
On the anniversary of the invasion, both sides attempted to show their determination for a second year of war.
Putin delivered a speech abandoning the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty with the US but not announcing any major initiatives to change the course of the war.
He was staged by Mr Biden, who traveled to Kiev and delivered a landmark speech in Warsaw.
Ukraine’s outnumbered troops repelled Russia’s attack aimed at capturing the capital early in the war and later recaptured significant territory. Russia still occupies nearly a fifth of Ukraine, which it allegedly annexed.