Dramatic video shows the moment Ukrainian forces launch a devastating attack on Russian positions in an occupied Kursk town.
President Zelensky’s men continue to advance their incursion into Russian territory, capturing hundreds of square kilometres of land so far, much to the embarrassment of Moscow’s top military brass.
Thousands of troops breached border defenses in a surprise attack on Aug. 6, and have since claimed more territory in two weeks than Russia has conquered in Ukraine this entire calendar year.
More than 122,000 people have left the region after authorities ordered mass evacuations, state news agency TASS reported, citing the Emergencies Ministry.
Paratroopers have been fighting near the village of Mala Loknya, about eight miles from the border, for several days, and new video now shows their bombing of Russian hideouts, which they claim to have carried out with German tanks.
Smoke and flames rise from buildings in the village of Mala Loknya in Russia’s Kursk region.
Intense Ukrainian shelling of Russian positions caught on camera
The attack left buildings, which Ukraine says Putin’s troops were using as hideouts, almost completely destroyed.
kyiv has said the aim of its campaign is to create a buffer zone to prevent further cross-border attacks by Moscow.
Ukraine has also sought to capture as many prisoners of war as possible to replenish an “exchange fund” in the hope it can help bring soldiers home in future exchanges.
Earlier this week, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi said Hope of capturing ‘many’ Russian prisoners in Mala Loknya.
Now footage of his troops’ assault on the settlement has emerged, released by the Ukrainian Airborne Assault Troops Command.
“The video shows shots fired from a BMP ‘Marder’ during assault operations in the village of Mala Loknya, Sudzhansky district, Kursk region,” it said in a statement.
Last year, Germany donated dozens of Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. Despite their age, they are considered to be among the most durable combat vehicles on the battlefield due to their quality, armor, guns and weight.
The Polissya paratroopers used the tanks to launch a “powerful attack” against “well-equipped firing points and combat positions of the Russian forces,” the statement continued.
“The enemy suffered significant losses in personnel, equipment and other material resources,” he added.
A Ukrainian soldier stands in front of a Marder infantry fighting vehicle after they were donated to kyiv last year.
This comes after a bridge along the same river was destroyed in an attack on Friday, for which Ukraine claimed responsibility.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles to the southeast in Russia’s Rostov region, authorities were struggling Tuesday to put out a massive fire in the southern Rostov region for a third day in a row after an oil depot was attacked by Ukrainian drones.
The fire at the depot in the city of Proletarsk spread over an area of one hectare (2.5 acres), according to Russian state news agencies.
The operation involves 500 firefighters and 41 of them have already been hospitalized with injuries, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing local officials.
The Ukrainian Army General Staff on Sunday claimed responsibility for the attack on the oil depot, which was used to supply the needs of the Russian army, calling it a move “to undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian Federation.”
In recent days, Ukrainian forces have attacked three key bridges over the Seym River, which have been crucial for the movement of troops by Putin’s army.
While the successes in the Kursk region have provided a significant morale boost for Ukraine, kyiv’s forces face a grim situation in the Donbas region.
Local residents clean broken glass from their balconies after a Russian shelling in a residential neighborhood in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, August 20.
Russia has been attacking the city of Pokrovsk, forcing Ukrainian troops to retreat and evacuate civilians.
The relentless six-month advance through Ukraine’s Donetsk region following the capture of Avdiivka has cost Ukraine dearly in troops and armour.
Ukrainian defenders have no choice but to retreat from their positions destroyed by Russian artillery, missiles and bombs.
Pokrovsk is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region.
Its capture would compromise Ukraine’s defensive capabilities and supply routes and bring Russia closer to its stated goal of capturing the entire Donetsk region.
Russia wants control of all parts of Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk, which together form the Donbass industrial region.