Moment greater than 100 of Putin’s troops ‘are worn out’ in strike
This is the moment more than 100 Russian troops are believed to have been killed in an ATACMS tactical ballistic missile strike on occupied Luhansk.
A military training ground was seen being hit by multiple explosions typical of an ATACMS strike in footage captured by a drone flying high above.
The strike targeted a group of 100-plus soldiers who were seen in aerial images, say OSINT analysts in what would be the single largest loss of Russian stories in months.
The ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) showered the troops with hundreds of M74 APAM mini-bombs which are carried by the missiles and deployed in clusters.
The strike was some 48 miles behind the frontline at a training base, it was reported.
A grouping of what are believed to Russian soldiers at a training ground are seen in drone footage, moments before a suspected US-made ATACMS missile struck
The military training ground was seen being hit by multiple explosions typical of an ATACMS strike in footage captured by a drone flying high above
In addition to the training ground, at least two other sites were struck by the missiles
‘Geolocation footage suggests that Ukrainian forces struck a Russian training ground southwest of Mozhnyakovka, killing 116 Russian troops,’ stated the Institute for the Study of War in an update on the continuing war in Ukraine on Thursday.
There are growing signs that Ukraine is using the American-produced ATACMS after receiving a batch in early April ahead of a $61 billion military aid package which was finally approved by Congress late last month.
The New York Times reported last week that the US may have secretly shipped 100 ATACMS to Ukraine ahead of the bill’s passage.
While the US had previously shipped ATACMS with a shorter range, the recent shipment is understood to include missiles that can travel around 190 miles – putting Russian targets that were previously safe behind the front lines well within range.
Footage of the recent attack appears to show the training ground as one such target.
The video shows a large grouping of figures, said to be Russian soldiers, grouped together on the training ground that is marked by several vehicle tracks.
A number of military vehicles are also seen parked nearby.
The camera then zooms far out showed a small nearby settlement as well as fields, forests and a winding river. While the soldiers themselves are no longer visible, the training ground clearing can be seen close to a bend in the river.
Suddenly, close to where the soldiers were seen, a large plume of dirt rises from the ground – believed to be where a dud missile smashed into a field.
But the Russian soldiers were less lucky with the next missile.
Over the area where the Russian soldiers were seen seconds earlier, hundreds of flashes of smoke are seen erupting over the clearing.
These flashes, according to analysts, were the M74 APAM mini-bombs detonating on the training ground, killing many of the Russian troops gathered there.
The camera zooms in on the training ground again to show dozens of objects billowing smoke over the ground where the troops had been.
A second area not far from the first is also then shown to have been struck, as is a third area over a forest.
Western analysts said the attack occurred between the Ukrainian towns of Kuban and Mozhnyakivka, about 50 miles into Russian-held territory.
The ISW said the attack likely involved four ATACMS, while GeoConfirmed – a community-based geolocating platform which works to verify pictures and video from the conflict – said that one of the ATACMS was likely a dud.
Analysts believe the footage shows as many as 116 soldiers were training before the strike
Footage after the strike shows where the soldiers had been moments earlier, as smoke rises from the hundreds of bomblets that are deployed in clusters by the ATACMS
In total, the ISW said that 116 Russian soldiers were killed in the attack.
Oleksandr Musiienko, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Military-Legal Studies, said the troops had been preparing for an offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.
‘Such strikes in the Luhansk region are crucial,’ he said, The Telegraph reported.
‘It’s precisely in the territory of the northeastern part of the Luhansk region that Russia has been training and coordinating its units, which were specifically preparing for an escalation of hostilities in the Kharkiv region, where Russia plans to reinforce its advance.’
There was another blow for Russian forces with a speculator video showing the destruction of the launcher and charger of Buk complex armed with six missiles in the direction of Sumy.
The mobile system was hiding near trees on the edge of a field.
But Ukraine was also hit by Russian attacks.
Footage shows an IRIS-T medium range infrared homing ground-to-air system hit by two Russian Kh-35 missiles.
Moscow’s defence minister also claimed footage showed the explosion of two US-made HIMARS missile complexes as they moved by road.
The ATACMS missile strike demonstrates the power of the weapons that are en-route to Ukraine after the US passed a bill releasing $61 billion in aid to the country.
But while the bill’s passage was good news for Ukraine, it is growing increasingly desperate for new arms to be delivered.
Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) are coveted by Kyiv as they can strike deep into Russian held territory, and could help Ukraine turn the tide of the war
The situation on the front line in eastern Ukraine is worsening, with Russia both out-manning and out-gunning Kyiv’s forces.
Nevertheless, local defenders are so far holding firm against a concerted push by Russia’s bigger and better-equipped forces, a senior Ukrainian military official said Thursday.
Nazar Voloshyn, spokesperson for Ukrainian strategic command in the east of the country, said Russia has amassed troops in the Donetsk region in an effort to punch through the Ukrainian defensive line.
‘The enemy is actively attacking along the entire front line, and in several directions they have achieved certain tactical advances,’ he said on national television.
‘The situation is changing dynamically.’
Russia has pushed Ukraine onto the back foot on the battlefield as Kyiv grapples with shortages of troops and ammunition. Ukrainian forces are now racing to build more defensive fortifications at places along the around 600-mile front line.
Ukraine’s difficulties have been deepening for months as the military waited for the vital new military aid from the United States.
The support was held up in Washington for six months.
Ukrainian soldiers withdrew from Avdiivka, a city in Donetsk, in February under a withering Russian barrage that had sapped their fighting strength and morale.
Since then, the Kremlin’s forces have used their military might to take village after village in the area, bludgeoning them into submission, as they look to capture the parts of Donetsk they don’t already occupy.
Ukrainian servicemen of 79th brigade take part in training, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 4, 2024
Ukrainian servicemen of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, fire a BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops, April 24
In France, President Emmanuel Macron reiterated in an interview published Thursday that he doesn’t exclude sending troops to Ukraine.
‘I’m not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out,’ he told the Economist, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
‘If the Russians penetrate the front lines, if there is a Ukrainian request – which is not the case today – we should legitimately ask ourselves the question’ of sending troops, Macron was quoted as saying.
Macron drew criticism from Russia and Western allies when he first floated the possibility earlier this year. ‘If Russia wins in Ukraine we will no longer have security in Europe. Who can pretend that Russia would stop there?’ he said in the interview.
Cities in Russia’s crosshairs, including recent target Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, are pulverized by Moscow’s missiles, drones and glide bombs.
The Donetsk and Luhansk provinces together make up the Donbas, an expansive industrial region bordering Russia that President Vladimir Putin identified as a focus from the war’s outset and where Moscow-backed separatists have fought since 2014.
Meanwhile, Russia launched its third attack in a week on Odesa, firing ballistic missiles at the southern Ukrainian port city and injuring 14 people, local officials and emergency services said.
The attack hit a sorting depot belonging to Ukraine’s biggest private delivery company, Nova Poshta. No staff were injured, the company said, but the strike started a major fire.
On Monday, six people were killed in a Russian missile strike on Odesa, and two days later three people died there when the Kremlin’s forces targeted civilian infrastructure.
Long-range strikes have been a feature of Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II, which mostly has focused on attrition.
Kyiv officials have pleaded for more air defence systems from Ukraine’s Western partners, but they have been slow in coming.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Russia had launched more than 300 missiles of various types, almost 300 Shahed-drones, and more than 3,200 guided aerial bombs at Ukraine in April alone.
Odesa, a key export hub for millions of tons of Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, has been repeatedly targeted by Russia.
Thursday was the 10th anniversary of clashes in the city between pro- and anti-Russia demonstrators that left 48 people dead.
Ukraine has deployed increasingly sophisticated long-range drones to hit back, aiming at targets on Russian soil, especially infrastructure that sustains the Russian economy and war effort.
The governors of three Russian regions reported that energy facilities were damaged by Ukrainian drone strikes overnight. Oryol region Gov. Andrei Klychkov said energy infrastructure was hit in two communities. The Smolensk and Kursk governors reported one facility damaged in each region.
The Russian Defence Ministry said Ukrainian drones were shot down over the Bryansk, Krasnodar, Rostov and Belgorod regions. Most were intercepted in Bryansk, where five were brought down, it said.
Ukrainian servicemen ride on an armored personnel carrier (APC) in a field near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, on April 27, 2024
In other developments, Zelensky confirmed that a peace summit for Ukraine will take place at the lakeside Burgenstock resort near Lucerne, Switzerland on June 15 and 16.
Zelensky said he expected that heads of states and governments from all continents would attend the meeting ‘to discuss ways to achieving comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine in accordance with the UN Charter and international law.’
The Swiss Foreign Ministry said more than 160 delegations are expected, including international bodies, but Russia has not so far been invited.
Switzerland is open to inviting Russia, and is convinced that Russia must be involved, it said, but noted that the Kremlin has repeatedly said that it has no interest in participating.
