Ukraine's armed forces have released an online video they say shows Kyiv's troops destroying a Russian tank.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces captioned the incident as being carried out by gunners of the 36th Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilinsky.
As of Thursday, Ukraine said it had destroyed 4,013 Russian tanks since the start of the war in February 2022. The Dutch website Oryx, which tracks losses of both sides using open source data, puts the figure much lower, at 2,054.
The clip, lasting one minute and 20 seconds and set to dramatic music, starts with a wide shot of a field. Smoke can be seen pouring into the air from a bank of trees, with the video switching to a different angle in which an explosion can be seen. The camera then zooms in with the apparent smoky remains of the tank visible and segues into another explosion and what appear to be fleeing troops.
The brigade's troops "burned a Russian tank and accurately 'sorted out' the enemy infantry," the Facebook post said, according to a translation that spurred comments of appreciation. Ukraine's 36th Separate Marine Brigade was formed in 2015 and, when Russia invaded last year, was mostly based in Mariupol, the port city in the Donetsk oblast now occupied by Russia.
The date and location of the unverified video filmed from a distance have not been specified. Newsweek has contacted Russia's defense ministry via email for comment.
The video comes as Ukrainian officials said that Russia had fired cruise and ballistic missiles and strike drones at targets in the cities of Odesa in the southwest of the country and Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast, where homes were damaged, Reuters reported.
Ukraine's air force said that air defenses downed three of the four drones fired in the overnight attack on Wednesday, which involved three Kinzhal hypersonic and three cruise missiles.
Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Kherson oblast, reported that Russian forces had injured four people during a strike on a residential building.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Thursday his country's counteroffensive "will take time" but that he was "optimistic for the liberation of all our lands occupied by Russians."
On the sidelines of a conference in London to discuss Ukraine's rebuilding, Shmyhal said Moscow's forces had prepared well for Kyiv's push to retake occupied territory, "so there are so many minefields, which really makes it slower to move."
Shmyhal's comments echo those of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who told the BBC that progress on the battlefield had been "slower than expected."
Zelensky raised the alarm on Thursday of Russia carrying out a terrorist attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP), Europe's biggest, which has been the scene of hostilities for months.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
