Bodycam footage shows the moment Ukrainian soldiers ambush Russian military truck filled with Putin’s troops in deadly attack
Bodycam footage shows the harrowing moment Ukrainian soldiers attack a truck full of Russian troops during their raid on Kursk.
You see Ukrainian special forces, dressed in camouflage suits, running through the woods as they hunt Putin’s soldiers with grenades, guns and rockets.
The group of about six heavily armed men rapidly fires on Russian targets as they gain ground and close in on their enemy.
The bodycam footage then captures the moment the soldiers use what appears to be a mini rocket launcher to destroy a Russian truck hidden behind some trees.
A bright orange explosion shoots towards the vehicle, which then bursts into flames, sending plumes of black smoke into the air.
The bodycam footage captures the moment the soldiers use what appears to be a mini rocket launcher to destroy a Russian truck hidden behind some trees
The group of about six heavily armed men rapidly fires on Russian targets as they gain ground and close in on their enemy
A bright orange explosion shoots towards the vehicle which then bursts into flames, sending plumes of black smoke into the air
Ukraine’s special forces, dressed in camouflage suits, run through the woods as they hunt Putin’s soldiers with grenades, guns and rockets
A message from the military unit on the social media app Telegram said the truck was “full of enemy personnel,” The sun has reported.
Ukrainian forces said they had destroyed all Russian equipment and disabled the troops within four minutes of the attack.
On August 6, Zelensky’s forces crossed the Russian border and seized territory, the largest cross-border attack on the country since World War II.
Since then, the Ukrainians have managed to advance as much as 32 kilometers in some directions and capture dozens of towns and settlements.
This morning they are also said to have captured Sudzha, a strategic city that is also a major transit point for Russian gas flowing into Ukraine.
Since last Tuesday, more than 120,000 Russian citizens have been forced to flee their homes due to large-scale evacuations in the region. 12 civilians are reported to have died.
While Russia has faced small-scale incursions into its territory since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the incursion into the Kursk region is by far the largest.
It was also the first time that the Ukrainian military itself led an invasion, rather than pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters who had defected. It was also the first time that Zelensky acknowledged an offensive into Russia.
Matthew Savill, director of military science at the think tank RUSI, told MailOnline there may currently be as many as 10,000 Ukrainian troops in Russia.
Ukrainian soldiers drive an armored military vehicle in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on August 12, 2024
This photo shows a road sign indicating the distance to the Russian city of Kursk, next to the destroyed border crossing with Russia, in the Sumy region, on August 13, 2024.
This photo shows ‘dragon’s teeth’ and other fortifications at the destroyed border crossing with Russia, in the Sumy region, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers operate a Soviet-made T-72 tank in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on August 12, 2024, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian soldier stands guard as he monitors a line of Russian prisoners of war in Kursk
A Ukrainian soldier raises a Ukrainian flag in Guevo, Kursk Oblast, Russia, released on August 11, 2024 in this still image obtained from a social media video
‘There is evidence that Ukrainian troops from at least four different brigades – the 22nd and 88th Mechanized Brigades and the 80th and 82nd Air Assault Brigades, and possibly more – are now involved in the Kursk offensive.
These brigades use Western-supplied equipment, such as Soviet-era infantry fighting vehicles and tanks.
‘It is difficult to estimate numbers, but it could be enough for about a division – perhaps 10,000 – given the distribution of the fighting now going on.
‘But we have to be very careful about determining the exact size, because units are rotated and the presence of elements does not tell us that the entire unit has been deployed.
‘This ambiguity suits the Ukrainians well.’
Dara Massicot, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, added that the Ukrainian breakthrough was so effective because it took advantage of key gaps between the various Russian commands in Kursk: border guards, Defense Ministry troops and Chechen units that fought alongside Russia in the war.
US President Joe Biden said security officials were in constant contact with Ukraine over the invasion of Russia, which he said had created “a real dilemma” for Putin.
According to the White House, Ukraine gave no advance warning of the attack and the United States was not involved in the operation. However, Russian officials have suggested that Western countries supporting Ukraine must have known about the attack.
The Ukrainian advance in Kursk is also a blow to Putin’s attempts to pretend that life in Russia has been largely untouched by the war.
An angry Putin on Monday called the invasion a Western plot in the war with Russia, with Ukrainian soldiers doing the dirty work.
‘It is now clear why the regime in Kiev rejected our proposals to return to a peaceful solution plan.
‘To all appearances, the enemy, with the help of his Western masters, is carrying out his will. Through the hands of the Ukrainians, the West is at war with us.
“But what kind of negotiations can we even have with people who indiscriminately attack civilians and civilian infrastructure or pose a threat to nuclear power plants?” the Russian president asked rhetorically, before ordering his armed forces to “expel” the Ukrainian troops.
His comments about Ukraine’s alleged indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure will undoubtedly be ridiculed in Kiev and the West.