Ukraine’s troops can be seen blasting Vladimir Putin‘s soldiers with machine guns as intense fighting along the front lines suggests the long-awaited counter-offensive has begun.
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Believed to have been filmed in the Donetsk region, the incredible video shows Russian troops quickly retreating from the battlefield as Ukrainians attack.
A different, Call Of Duty-style video, shows a Ukrainian soldier firing multiple shots with machine guns at Russian troops in an intense trench battle.
Battles have started across Ukraine‘s front lines as forces have been steadily readying for their counter-offensive.
Troops have been training with Western weapons, with German Leopard 2 tanks and US Bradley armoured vehicles being spotted in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed today that counteroffensive operations are underway.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, the Ukrainian leader, asked reporters to pass on to Putin that his generals are “optimistic.”
Responding to a comment made by the Russian leader that Ukraine has begun its offensive but has suffered heavy losses, Zelensky branded Putin’s words as “interesting”.
Standing next to visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he said: “Counter-offensive and defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine, but I will not say in detail what stage they are at.
“They (the generals) are all in a positive mood. Pass that on to Putin.”
The statement follows an overnight Russian strike in the city of Odesa that left three people dead and dozens wounded- including two children and a pregnant woman.
Two people were killed in a Russian attack on the town of Orekhova in the Zaporizhzhia region while ten drones targeted the Kharkiv region its governor, Oleh Syniehubov, adding that a 29-year-old man was killed and three other civilians were injured.
Ukraine has been planning the major counteroffensive for months, aiming to recapture Russian- occupied regions in the south and the east but has maintained a strict policy of silence.
Earlier this week, Moscow claimed Ukraine launched a big offensive push including a “large-scale offensive” in Donetsk but failed to breach its defences.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence said Ukraine had conducted “significant” operations in several eastern and southern parts in the last 48 hours, with Russian defences breached in places.
“In some areas, Ukrainian forces have likely made good progress and penetrated the first line of Russian defences. In others, Ukrainian progress has been slower.
“Some (Russian) units are likely conducting credible manoeuvre defence operations while others have pulled back in some disorder, amid increased reports of Russian casualties as they withdraw through their own minefields.”
Ukrainian military spokesman Serhiy Cherevaty said today Kyiv had made new gains.
He said: “We’re trying…to conduct strikes on the enemy, we are counter-attacking.
“We’ve managed to advance up to 1,400 metres (0.87 mile) on various sections of the front.”
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Friday that the epicentre of the fighting has been in the east, particularly in the Donetsk region, and cited heavy battles in Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka.
Valerii Shershen, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s armed forces in Zaporizhzhia, told Radio Liberty that they were searching for weaknesses in Russias defense in that region, to the west.
Russia‘s Defence Ministry said that Ukrainian forces had continued in the past 24 hours “unsuccessful” attempts to attack in southern Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as in Bakhmut.
Last week Kyiv’s troops pushed back Russian lines around the battered city of Bakhmut which was seized after one of the war’s most fierce battles.