Stunning footage shows an entire column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles being destroyed one by one in an unusual ambush by Ukrainian marines.
A video shows five Russian tanks advancing through a destroyed village in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine where houses have been reduced to rubble by heavy fighting.
But soldiers from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade were watching their advance from their bunkers and fired a series of US-supplied Javelin missiles at the tanks, destroying them one by one in a scene of sheer carnage.
A missile can be seen racing through the air before crashing into one of the tanks, which explodes in a ball of flames. At one point another missile hit another tank and desperate Russian soldiers were seen fleeing from the burning wreckage.
The Javelin missile has been an integral part of Ukraine’s arsenal since the war began because it is able to effectively target Russian tanks by flying from a height and shooting down the target from above.
Stunning footage shows an entire column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles being destroyed one by one in an unusual ambush by Ukrainian marines.
A missile can be seen racing through the air before crashing into one of the tanks, which explodes in a ball of flames
At one point another missile hit another tank and desperate Russian soldiers were seen fleeing from the burning wreckage
The missile, part of a series of weapons Western countries like the US and UK have sent to Ukraine, is particularly deadly against tanks because their armor is thinnest on top.
The footage shows five Russian tanks driving through a destroyed village before a Ukrainian soldier fires a Javelin missile at a column of military vehicles.
The missile is seen racing through the air and falling into the tank, which catches on fire. Plumes of black smoke rise into the air and the other four tanks try to run away and avoid the Ukrainian fire.
The same Ukrainian Navy fired two missiles in quick succession at tanks in a field, causing them to explode in huge fireballs.
Ukrainian forces fired another missile at the faltering Russian forces, hitting another tank.
After being hit, the Russian tank managed to frantically turn away, trying to avoid the missile strikes. But another missile managed to hit the tank as it raced across the field, forcing the Russian soldiers to flee through the burning wreckage.
Three Russian soldiers manage to jump out of a burning tank and start running in different directions across the black field in a chaotic scene.
The same Ukrainian Navy fired two missiles in quick succession at tanks in a field, causing them to explode in huge fireballs
Three Russian soldiers managed to jump out of a burning tank and start running in different directions across the black field in a chaotic scene.
The same Ukrainian Navy fired two missiles in quick succession at tanks in a field, causing them to explode in huge fireballs
Another tank was seen racing across the field and a missile missed it by inches. The Russian tank then begins to reverse before firing at the Ukrainian forces.
But the United Ukrainian Marines responded by firing another missile at the tank and smoke was seen enveloping the vehicle.
Within seconds, Ukrainian forces fired another Javelin at another tank and it exploded in a huge fireball as large pieces of rubble shot out from the wreckage. The footage then cuts to burning tanks in a field that has been riddled with large craters as a result of intense fighting.
“How the javelin fighters of the 36th separate brigade of marines named after Admiral Mykhailo Belinsky burned Russian armored vehicles in the Donetsk region is real art,” said the 36th Separate Marine Brigade of the footage.
Elsewhere on the front line, Ukraine said Russian forces continued their offensive to the east, particularly on Bakhmut and nearby towns as well as on the town of Avdiivka, about 37 miles southwest of Bakhmut.
Bakhmut was the site of Europe’s bloodiest infantry battle since World War II, as Russian forces seek their first victory since mid-2022.
The Ukrainian army said on Facebook on Thursday evening: “Our defenses control the city and repel many enemy attacks.”
Ukrainian military analyst and journalist, Andriy Tsaplenko, said in an interview with Ukrainian radio station NV that Russian forces were trying to repeat what happened in Bakhmut in Avdiivka.
The city is subjected to continuous daily bombardment. Realizing that they simply cannot take it, Tsaplenko said, they are instead starting to destroy Avdiivka as best they can.
The Ukrainian military had said the day before that Russian fighters were having some success in Bakhmut. Evin Diky, a Ukrainian military analyst who was interviewed on Ukrainian radio NV, said that Russian forces control more than half of the city.
I can tell you that Bakhmut is tenacious. But there is heavy fighting in the city and he is approaching the city centre.
If the Russian forces are said to have made “some progress” it may be because they crossed the Pakhmutka River. They came wave after wave and we’re talking about a few hundred metres’, Dicky added.
A month ago, it seemed likely that the Ukrainian army would abandon Bakhmut, but it has since decided to stay and fight for it, hoping to exhaust and exhaust the Russian offensive force.
