The war in Ukraine has clearly proven one thing: the nature of modern warfare is changing.
Drones are dominating the battlefield like no other time.
And how war gets reported to the public is also changing. That means much less coverage by so-called mainstream media and more coverage on social media – with some impressive videos that capture both sides victories and defeats.
‘Munition Dropped’: Ukraine Drone Video Shows Russia Taking Punishment
Ukraine Weapons Tracker (who can be found on Twitter as @UAWeapons) has a video back in April featuring footage from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Specifically, the video demonstrates how drones are being used to thwart the Russian invasion.
The video’s caption reads:
“#Ukraine: A Russian Ural cargo truck was destroyed by a munition dropped from a drone of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade in Pavlivka, #Donetsk Oblast. Several previously undocumented losses are seen nearby too – destroyed Russian Tigr-M and Iveco Rys infantry mobility vehicles.”
The video play-by-play
The video is shown from the vantage point of a drone – a bird’s eye view, so to speak.
The perspective is shown in thermal imaging because the video was shot at night. On the ground below are several vehicles. Front and center is one intact truck.
A bomb is dropped from the drone and pinwheels over itself as it descends towards the truck. The bomb impacts the truck, and a flare of light is shown from an explosion.
The ensuing fire grows to consume the truck. Smoke can be seen billowing from the truck. At the very end of the video, tacked on, is a still frame of the scene taken during the day, when the extent of the damage rendered can be fully seen.
The truck that was targeted in the video is burnt out and destroyed. But what’s interesting is that surrounding the truck are several other vehicles (as mentioned in the video’s caption) that are also burnt up and destroyed.
Also visible in the daytime shot, is the surrounding building, which is uninhabitable and mostly reduced to rubble; the daytime shot offers a stark insight into the realities, and the destructive potential, of war – which can look so benign and innocuous when shown from the video game vantage point of a drone’s thermal screen.
In the comments below the video, a certified Twitter account named GeoConfirmed shared their own post, which seemed to confirm the authenticity of the strike in the UAWeapons video. “A Russian Ural cargo truck was destroyed by a munition dropped from a drone of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade in Pavlivka, Donetsk Oblast.”
So indeed, the video appears to be authentic. However, we cannot confirm this independently.
The video offers glimpse into realities of war
Recent fighting in Ukraine is understood to be amongst the most vicious combat experienced anywhere since World War II.
Two Wagner Group fighters who sat down with CNN recently offered glimpses into the nature of the combat.
“The two fighters told of hideous losses in “first wave” assaults reminiscent of World War I charges,” CNN reported. One of the fighters spoke of his first assault near the village of Bilohorivka.
“There were 90 of us. Sixty died in that first assault, killed by mortar fire. A handful remained wounded,” one of the Wagner fighters told CNN. “If one group is unsuccessful, another is sent right away. If the second one is unsuccessful, they send another group.”
#Ukraine: A Russian Ural cargo truck was destroyed by a munition dropped from a drone of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade in Pavlivka, #Donetsk Oblast.
Several previously undocumented losses are seen nearby too – destroyed Russian Tigr-M and Iveco Rys infantry mobility vehicles. pic.twitter.com/7eQwhAp3Dl
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 13, 2023
The second fighter spoke of an assault near the city of Lysychansk. “The first steps into the forest were difficult because of all the landmines spread out. Out of 10 guys, seven were killed immediately,” the fighter said. “You can’t help the wounded. The Ukrainians were firing heavily on us, so even if their wounds were minor, you’ve got to keep going, otherwise you’re the one getting hit by fire…You are at it for five days, people dying right next to me, praying to God, beginning for water. You think that you can put down your weapon and nothing else will happen. And then the fight starts again 10 minutes later, and [the Ukrainians] keep coming after you. There is no feeling attached to it. Just wave after wave.”
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
