Video Shows Single Ukrainian Soldier Fending Off Russian Assault – A newly released video showing a Ukrainian soldier defending a mud-soaked trench line could have easily been mistaken for footage from a movie or video game.
What We Know
The nearly five and half minute long video, posted by The Sun newspaper to YouTube, was filmed in a mud-soaked trench in the Luhansk region of Eastern Ukraine.
The unidentified individual can be seen using a number of small arms including an AK-47 style assault rifle and an RPG-7 to fend off a seemingly endless wave of Russian attackers.
A second individual could be seen taking orders via radio, while he also reloaded the weapons for the soldier and provided support.
The footage, likely filmed with a helmet-mounted camera such as a GoPro, provided a first-person perspective of the fighting.
The authenticity of the footage hasn’t been verified, but it is believed to be real.
From the devastated terrain that included trees reduced to little more than short stalks coming out of the ground to the shallow trench line and waves of attackers, it would be easy to compare this footage to the Oscar-nominated All Quiet on the Western Front, the latest adaptation of the novel by Erich Maria Remarque about the First World War.
It is a case of life imitating art but where an actual soldier’s life was on the line.
It isn’t the first such video shared from the frontlines, and a number of other clips have also been posted on the video-sharing service – which likely wasn’t the intent of YouTube’s founders.
However, these videos offer the most brutal view of actual combat likely ever shared with the masses. Unlike past documentaries or news clips, this footage is often raw and unedited. It presents a view of combat as seen by those doing the fighting.
Some of the footage has been recorded via drones, while others from helmet-mounted cameras.
This will certainly provide a new perspective on modern warfare, as it can show the most horrible and intense moments for those doing the fighting.
Until the advent of motion picture cameras, spoken and then written descriptions of combat could only be provided by individuals after an engagement – and that likely led to embellishments and other factual errors.
These videos are also a near real-time depiction of the fighting, posted just days or even hours after being recorded.
What is also notable is how the Russian forces are seen mounting a seemingly futile assault against well-defended positions. It reinforces Ukraine’s claims that hundreds and perhaps even thousands of the Kremlin’s troops are being killed weekly.
The recent video shared on YouTube showed determined defenders working as a coordinated team, while the Russians were simply charging blindly – and in many cases running literally towards their deaths.
The truth may still be the first casualty of war, but modern video technology could provide vital to helping keep the truth alive.
Note: As the video may upset some readers we have made the call not to embed it. However, you can go to YouTube and see it here.
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Author Experience and Expertise:
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
