Two aerial view stills show action near Kupiansk in footage posted by Ukrainian forces.
30th Mechanized Brigade/Facebook
Ukraine shared video of four Russian armored vehicles being destroyed over the winter.The front and rear vehicles were targeted, trapping the other two in between.An analysis by the WSJ said this is typical of how Ukraine is holding off Russia’s advance.
Video shared by a Ukrainian mounted brigade shows a Russian armed vehicle convoy being carefully destroyed, demonstrating the defending country’s tactics as winter wears on.
The drone’s-eye-view video shows the first of the four armed vehicles being struck with an explosion. It then cuts to show another strike on the rear vehicle, which traps the two in the middle.
The two stranded vehicles change course — one turning back and the other attempting to race forward — but each is picked off by further strikes.
The footage, shared on December 28 and set ironically to the tune of Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” shows the actions of the 30th and 14th Mechanized Brigades near Kupiansk, in northeast Ukraine, according to the 30th’s Facebook post.
According to The Wall Street Journal, which produced a close analysis of the raw unedited footage, the video shows a typical set of tactics for the brigades.
The Russians were attempting to take control of Synkivka, just northeast of Kupiansk, a commander from the battalion told the Journal.
The convoy comprised tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, and was picking out a narrow path through a minefield, the outlet reported.
In the raw footage, the paper reported, the Russian soldiers can later be seen scrambling toward a scrubby clump of bare trees, which are then also targeted.
It said that the footage is an example of the tactics Ukraine has used to hold Russian forces back throughout a grueling winter campaign, despite making precious little forward progress themselves.
It also shows how Russia’s own devastating defensive lines — which include miles-deep minefields to prevent Ukrainian forces from retaking territory— are proving a pitfall for their own military progress.
A month after the assault, Russian forces are still trying to advance on Kupiansk, a crucial railway hub for the region.
Volodymyr Fito, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ground Forces, said that “the enemy has only managed to improve its tactical position somewhat and now presents it in its media as the capture of Berlin,” according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Fito did not elaborate on how much territory Russia had gained, saying only that 10 assaults had been repelled, and that there had been actions at Synkivka, Tabaivka, Terny, and Yampolivka, while denying Russian reports that Tabaivka had been captured.
The Russian army is behaving “recklessly,” he said, adding that it has “intensified the use of armored vehicles, actively deploying tanks and infantry combat vehicles.”
He continued: “Considering the quantity of losses, we see that it does not greatly aid them.”