Russia has said that it has destroyed Ukrainian fortified positions as well as tanks and armoured vehicles using Mi-28N attack helicopters.
The footage purports to show one of the Russian attack helicopters taking off from a base in an undisclosed location before it can be seen firing its deadly ordnance at unseen targets.
The images then appear to show the attack helicopter having landed back at base.
The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Wednesday, 12 April, along with a statement claiming: “The crews of Mi-28N attack helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces launched missiles at discovered fortified positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
The Russian MoD added: “As a result of combat use, a control centre, tanks and other armoured vehicles of the enemy were destroyed.
“Army aviation in the zone of the special military operation performs the tasks of escorting columns, destroying armoured vehicles, delivering troops, military cargo and air support for Russian troops.”
We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 413th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 12th April 2023, Russia had lost about 180,050 personnel, 3,646 tanks, 7,043 armoured combat vehicles, 2,770 artillery units, 535 multiple launch rocket systems, 282 air defence systems, 307 warplanes, 293 helicopters, 2,334 drones, 911 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 5,630 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 319 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
The leaked US defence documents have reportedly revealed that American intelligence told Ukraine in February that it might fail to have enough troops and weapons for a planned spring counteroffensive and could fall “well short” of its goals to recapture territory seized by Russia.
The leaked US military documents also reportedly indicate that the UK has deployed up to 50 special forces operatives in Ukraine and that over half of the Western special forces personnel in the country in February and March this year may have been from the United Kingdom.
The documents also reportedly revealed that Egypt was allegedly planning to covertly supply Moscow with ammunition, with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi telling senior Egyptian military officials to keep their production and shipments secret “to avoid problems with the West”.
Senior Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has said that his country needs more long-range weapons and “less contemplation on leaks”.
Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhii Cherevatyi has denied a claim by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Russia’s private military organisation Wagner, that Russian forces now control over 80 per cent of the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
Cherevatyi said: “I can confidently state that the Ukrainian defence forces control a much larger percentage of the territory of Bakhmut.”
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said on Tuesday that Russia’s detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will “do even more damage to Russia’s standing around the world.”
Denmark’s acting Defence Minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, has said that a Danish decision on supplying Western fighter jets to Kyiv will likely take place “before the summer”.
