Ukraine Soldiers Take Out Trench Filled With Russians in Graphic Video
Ukraine's military has shared graphic footage of Ukrainian special forces troops appearing to kill ten Russian soldiers in a trench.
The video, posted to social media by Ukraine's special forces on Monday, shows the death of several Russian fighters in a trench in southern Ukraine, Kyiv's military said.
The Ukrainian soldiers "approached from the rear to the enemy's positions," the special forces said.
The fighters "caught the enemy by surprise," the military added on Telegram, saying the footage was captured by one of the soldiers involved in the engagement. The special forces did not specify when the footage was filmed, or give further details of the location.
Russian soldiers are seen on patrol in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on April 12, 2022. Ukraine's military has shared graphic footage of Ukrainian special forces troops appearing to kill ten Russian soldiers in a trench. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images
Some accounts sharing the footage have said soldiers from Ukraine's 73rd Maritime Special Operations were involved and that the footage was filmed in the southern Zaporizhzhia regio,n where Ukraine is currently engaged in counteroffensive operations.
Newsweek could not independently verify these details nor the veracity of the footage. The Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries have been contacted for comment via email.
The incident comes as Ukraine says it has captured an eighth settlement in its ongoing counteroffensive, saying the village of Pyatikhatky in the Zaporizhzhia region has been liberated. Kyiv previously said it had taken control of the nearby village of Lobkove since it launched the first phase of its long-expected counteroffensive earlier in June.
WARNING: Video contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing.
Ukrainian SOF has approached from the rear to the enemy’s positions on Southern direction and destroyed 10 russian occupiers. pic.twitter.com/cp5nX5WChs — SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES OF UKRAINE (@SOF_UKR) June 19, 2023
General Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's top soldier, shared footage on Monday which he said showed Ukrainian forces taking over Pyatikhatky. But on Sunday, Moscow denied that Kyiv was in control of the settlement, saying attacks had been "repulsed."
The counteroffensive, which experts say is still in its initial reconnaissance and probing phase, has focused on the eastern Donetsk region and the annexed Zaporizhzhia region.
"In the south, during the past week, there was an offensive in several directions," Ukrainian deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said on Monday. Ukraine has taken control of 113 square kilometers (44 square miles) of territory in southern Ukraine in the past week, she added.
Multiple villages have been seized in Donetsk, including Blahodatne and Makarivka, Maliar said.
"Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive actions on at least four sectors of the front on June 18 and made limited territorial gains," the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said on Sunday.
However, Kyiv's forces may be "temporarily pausing" these counteroffensive efforts, the ISW added, although this would not mark the end of Ukraine's concerted push against Moscow's troops.
Both sides are thought to have racked up high casualty counts since the counteroffensive began, with Russian casualties at their highest level since March, according to Britiain's Ministry of Defence.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 18 June 2023.
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/kAqNWJPcea
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/mfO2AfBSy2 — Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 18, 2023
In the past week, more than 4,600 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded, Maliar wrote on Telegram on Monday. A tally updated by Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces on Monday reported Russian casualties to be 630 in the previous 24 hours.
On Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukraine had lost up to 950 troops over the past day.
Newsweek cannot independently verify battlefield losses.
Source: Newsweek
