The terrifying reality of close-range trench combat on Ukraine’s front lines has been captured in high definition by a Ukrainian soldier in new heartbreaking first-person footage.
The stunning clip was shot by a volunteer named ‘Osman’ amid bitter fighting near the village of Ivanivske, a small settlement on the outskirts of Bakhmut in Donetsk, which has been the epicenter of the bloody conflict for months.
From the first second, bullets can be heard whizzing just inches from Osman, who sprints through no man’s land for cover.
He turns to run into a trench and collides with another member of his troop who runs out of the tunnel in the opposite direction.
But the moment of relief at the sight of a friendly face is immediately shattered as a Russian soldier emerges from the shadows and fires several bullets just meters away.
Osman fires back at a Russian attacker with one hand after being shot in the arm while running for cover
Osman sprints back to his platoon and seeks out the medic who ties his arm to prevent blood loss
The Ukrainian soldiers scream as they desperately duck for cover.
They ran off with their lives, but only just – the cameraman was hit in the arm and bright red blood can be seen running down his wrist and covering his hand.
Ignoring his wound, he raises his rifle with one hand and returns fire, but is unable to grab hold of his enemy who has retreated back into the tunnel.
‘Fuck him up!’ he yells, throwing his rifle at his comrade who gallantly sprints back into the trench, chasing the enemy as he fires his assault rifle.
We don’t get to see if the cameraman’s brother-in-law can handle the job.
Momentarily out of immediate danger, Osman realizes he has only minutes before blood loss from his gunshot wound can render him helpless on the battlefield.
He sends it back to his troop to find a medic, before ripping a tourniquet off his body armor and yelling “tie it up!”
The medic springs into action, tightening the tourniquet on Osman’s upper arm and restricting blood flow, forcing the volunteer to fight another day.
The clip, released on the Telegram messaging app yesterday, comes from the GoPro of a volunteer from Ukraine’s 24th Separate Assault Battalion, known only by his call sign “Osman.”
Osman is seen brandishing a tourniquet after being shot in the arm
. He seeks a doctor who will tie his limb to prevent the bleeding
Ukrainian soldiers check Russian positions after a battle, as the Russian assault on Ukraine continues, near the frontline town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, May 11, 2023
Wounded soldiers evacuated from the battlefield arrive in Bakhmut district, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on May 16, 2023
Ukrainian soldiers fire a cannon near Bakhmut, an eastern town where fierce fighting against Russian troops has taken place, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, May 15, 2023
The battalion, code-named ‘Aidar’ in homage to the river of the same name that flows through Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, has been engaged in several deadly battles with Russian attackers in and around Bakhmut for weeks.
It comes as Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, on Thursday accused regular Russian army units of withdrawing 570 meters north of Bakhmut, exposing the flanks of his own fighters.
In recent months, Wagner forces, with some support from the regular army, have spearheaded the assault on Bakhmut, one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the war.
Prigozhin, who has repeatedly accused Russia’s top military of not doing enough to support his men, asked the defense ministry to do everything possible to protect Bakhmut’s flanks after an alleged withdrawal.
“Unfortunately, Russian Defense Ministry units have withdrawn to 570 meters north of Bakhmut, exposing our flanks,” Prigozhin said in a voice message.
“I am appealing to the top of the Defense Ministry – in public – because my letters are not being read,” Prigozhin said.
“Please don’t give up the flanks,” he told Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
Wagner says most of the destroyed city was taken – albeit at a huge human cost. But Ukraine says its forces have recaptured the area around Bakhmut in recent days.
Moscow sees Bakhmut, a city of about 70,000 before the war, as a potential stepping stone to conquering the rest of the eastern industrial Donbas region bordering Russia.