🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Ukrainian paratroopers in southern Ukraine have destroyed a Russian demining installation, according to a fiery new video posted on social media.
A Facebook post reported that soldiers of the 79th Separate Amphibious Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed the UR-77 Russian demining installation, known among military officials as the "Snake Horynich."
The attack, which produced billowing smoke, occurred in the Russian-occupied region of Donetsk, officials said.
"Despite the fact that this technique is intended for making passages in minefields, recently the enemy uses it to storm positions, dropping one and a half tons of explosives on Ukrainian fortifications," the post said, according to a translation.
Russians were going to use this installation specifically for an assault, Ukrainian officials said, "but it didn't work out." Forces detected the installation by way of aerial reconnaissance.
"Its advance was stopped by artillery fire, after which the demining installation ran over the mine," Ukrainian officials said. "Later, it was finished off with the help of an attack drone."
Newsweek has not been able to independently verify these reports.
Reconnaissance and drones have been well utilized in Donetsk by the brigade from Mykolaiv, especially within the past two weeks. One recent video showed a drone battle between Ukrainian and Russian machinery, with the Ukrainian drone allegedly knocking its adversary out of the sky.
Another Facebook post from October 6 showed Mykolaiv paratroopers using a drone to discover Russians' positions on a mountain slope, described as "a hard-to-reach place."
About a week ago, Alexander Štupun, the Ukrainian spokesperson of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reported that Russian troops were ordered by superiors to temporarily stop fighting due to low morale and desertion.
"I think the halt in fighting in Donetsk mostly confirms what everyone already knew: that Russia's mobilization is not going smoothly and will not make a meaningful difference on the battlefield for at least the next several months," Kyle Haynes, associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Purdue University, told Newsweek last Thursday.
Ukrainian counterattacks come less than two weeks after Russian activist Pavel Gubarev said that any Ukrainians who cannot be convinced to join Russia would be "exterminated."
Russia has also been accused of using citizens as "human shields" in Donetsk, accompanied by Russian soldiers hiding out in schools.
Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek investigative reporter based in Michigan. His focus includes U.S. and international politics and policies, immigration, ... Read more