While combat has intensified in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, where Russia appears to be making slow and tactical gains, fighting continues in the south of the country. Russian troops continue to defend the land bridge created between the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, and Ukrainian soldiers persist in their defense against expansion northward.
In a video shared by a Ukrainian-language Facebook account titled “Grouping of Troops ‘Kakhovka,’” one Russian position in the south can be seen being struck by a Ukrainian missile.
Aerial footage shows the position being hit by the missile, with a cloud of dust and smoke emerging from the site. Soldiers can also be seen running to escape the position after the strike, and moving into the bunker that was hit – presumably with the intention of helping other service members who may have been trapped inside.
“Units of the operative group of troops “Kakhovka” do not allow the enemy to rest. Ukrainian defenders are holding,” the video caption reads, per Google Translate.
“Ukrainian defenders conduct reconnaissance operations to identify enemy troops, and skillfully destroy it. We believe in the strength and power of the Armed Forces of Ukraine!”
Video of Ukrainian artillery strikes on a Russian position in the south.https://t.co/v989xZsuHh pic.twitter.com/z7YM7mVJT6
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) June 24, 2022
More Strikes In Southern Ukraine
Another video published by the South Operational Command on Facebook reveals that Ukraine’s Air Force struck Russian positions five times on June 23, destroying Russian military equipment and killing a number of troops.
“Ukrainian partisans continue resistance within the temporarily occupied areas. This way they are hindering the activity of Russian occupation ‘authorities’ in Kherson Region,” a statement from the South Operational Command reads.
“The enemy in our operational zone continues defensive actions and counter-battery fighting. He did not take active action with the available forces, he did not create new strike groups,” the statement continues, adding that missile strikes continue to be a “means of combat and psychological pressure.”
The South Operational Command also accused Russian troops of continuing to target hospitals, stadiums, and a children’s sports school in southern Ukraine, describing enemy tactics as “desperate hostile agony.”
Ukrinform reports that many of these reported attacks against civilian population centers and facilities have taken place in the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine, with Russian occupiers having “deployed artillery units to provide fire support for their forces.”
Some of the missiles directed at social infrastructure facilities are understood to have been intercepted and destroyed by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense units in the region.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
