Video footage shared on social media this week shows Russian soldiers fleeing from a position in Sulyhivka village, Ukraine, after a Ukrainian UAV dropped a grenade. The clip, just one of several videos included in a compilation, shows the grenade failing to explode after landing on a Russian truck, allowing soldiers to flee the scene without being harmed.
Other clips in the same video, however, showed Russian troops and vehicles being destroyed by Ukrainian munitions in Kharkiv Oblast. The video is below and could be considered disturbing.
In additional clips, Russian vehicles appeared to be hit by adapted 40×46 HEDP grenades as well as artillery fire.
Among the vehicles destroyed in the multiple attacks are three T-72B tanks, two transport trucks, and a BMP-2 IFV.
Russian Helicopters Shot Down Near Sulyhivka
In the same region over the last month, Ukrainian soldiers also successfully took down a Russian Ka-52 helicopter. Reports revealed in mid-June how Ukrainian troops shot down the enemy aircraft in Kharkiv Oblast, with the helicopter crashing in a region temporarily occupied by the Russians.
The details of the attack were revealed by the 93rd Independent Kholodnyi Yar Mechanised Brigade in a Facebook post.
“Today we have been working on the Iziumskom directly, on The Kharkiv Region, the Zonitno-Rocket Divizion Kholodnoyartsiv Znizchiv Combat Helicopter Ka-52 Russian Zagarbnikiv. The helicopter fell on the timachovo occupied the territory of the world by the populations of the points of Suligivka and Dovgenke,” the post reads, per Google Translate.
“Zavdyachuchuchi zusillam kholodnoyarskoi brigade rashistiv changed in the Ukrainian sky.”
#Ukraine: Russian vehicles in Sulyhivka village, #Kharkiv Oblast, were hit by UA drone dropped munitions (Adapted 40×46 HEDP grenades) & artillery fire.
3x T-72B series tanks, 2x transport trucks and a BMP-2 IFV were targeted/damaged. pic.twitter.com/JKYDWGbrjC
— ?? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) July 1, 2022
As of June 13, Ukrainian soldiers in the region said that a total of 178 Russian helicopters had been destroyed since the beginning of the war, as well as 213 aircraft.
Kharkiv Oblast has seen some heavy combat in recent weeks, but with Russian troops focusing heavily on Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, reports have revealed how the Russian advance in Kharkiv has been effectively halted by Ukrainian forces.
This week, reports revealed how a Russian assault was repelled in nearby Dementiivka, forcing the Russians to withdraw.
The number of Russian vehicles and aircraft being destroyed in the region, and across the rest of Ukraine, appears to be increasing as Ukrainian troops access more advanced weapons from NATO countries. With Soviet-era weapons becoming increasingly difficult to procure, Ukrainian troops are now relying more heavily on NATO-standard equipment designed to cause greater damage and strike with greater precision.
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.
