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Graphic footage appears to show a Russian mortar malfunctioning as soldiers attempt to use it to attack Ukrainian positions.
In a grainy clip circulating on Reddit, troops fire the weapon but a plume of smoke immediately appears around where they are standing. A soldier can be seen crawling towards the mortar position as the smoke clears. It is not clear how many casualties there were.
Newsweek could not independently verify the authenticity, time of recording or location where the video was filmed, and has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
Newsweek has not embedded or linked to this footage because of its graphic nature.
Artillery has played a crucial role in the ongoing war in Ukraine for both sides. In the early weeks of Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive in southern and eastern regions of the country, both Kyiv and Moscow were looking for where one another's artillery was located, Frederik Mertens, a strategic analysts with the Hague Center for Strategic Studies, previously told Newsweek.
Both sides are "trying to reach deep behind each other's lines with long-range firepower and trying to get the upper hand in this artillery duel," he added in mid-June.
On Tuesday, the U.S.' top soldier, General Mark Milley, reiterated that Ukraine sorely needs long-range and short-range artillery, adding in a press briefing: "That's what they want. That's what they're asking for."
But Russian forces are increasing their offensive efforts in the face of Ukrainian gains, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said on Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said "the initiative is already on our side" in the Kupyansk area in eastern Ukraine, adding Moscow's "offensive in the Kupyansk direction is currently unsuccessful."
However, Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that its fighters had advanced "up to 2 kilometers" (1.2 miles) along the front near Kupyansk, without specifying further details.
Bitter fighting is continuing on Bakhmut's northern and southern flanks, Maliar said on Tuesday, with Ukraine coming up against mines and "intense enemy fire." The fiercely contested city in eastern Ukraine has borne the brunt of some of the most lethal fighting of the war.
Russian forces "were forced to retreat" from the Donetsk village of Orikhovo-Vasylivka," a Ukrainian military spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Both Ukraine and Russia have also made "limited advances" in the west of the annexed southern Zaporizhzhia region, the ISW said.
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more