These images show Ukrainian forces clearing Russian dugouts as they advance through the forests of Donetsk.
The video begins by showing Ukrainian soldiers travelling in a military vehicle before they are seen entering a forested area on foot, their weapons raised.
The footage then shows them opening fire into a Russian dugout and clearing another with a grenade.
The POV-video shows the Ukrainian soldiers opening fire on a number of other dugouts and foxholes, tossing in grenades for good measure.
The images were obtained from the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Wednesday, 19th July, along with a statement saying: “We are advancing through the forests of the Donetsk region.
“Each dugout in the dense ‘greenery’ is checked by the attack aircraft with bullets and grenades.
“Every detected occupier who resists will be eliminated.
“Coordinated work of the soldiers of the 3rd Company of the 1st Assault Battalion on the outskirts of Bakhmut.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 511th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 19th July 2023, Russia had lost about 239,480 personnel, 4,123 tanks, 8,059 armoured combat vehicles, 4,573 artillery units, 689 multiple launch rocket systems, 430 air defence systems, 315 warplanes, 310 helicopters, 3,885 drones, 1,279 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 7,105 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 683 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday that it had carried out “a mass revenge strike” on Ukrainian port cities, one day after the attack on the Kerch Bridge linking the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland.
The Russian MoD claimed that it hit “facilities where terrorist acts against the Russian Federation were being prepared using crewless boats, as well as at the place of their manufacture at a shipyard near the city of Odesa.”
Both Ukraine and Russia have said that they are making progress and advances in north-eastern Ukraine.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence said that both sides had achieved “marginal advances” in different areas over the last week.
The United Nations said on Tuesday that there are a “number of ideas being floated” to help export Ukrainian and Russian grain and fertiliser to the world’s markets after Moscow quit the Black Sea grain deal.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has asked permission from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague not to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguing that to do so would amount to declaring war.
South Africa, an ICC member, is due to host a summit of the BRICS club of countries next month and will be legally required to arrest Putin should he attend the summit in person.
The UK’s outgoing Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said that the war in Ukraine is “winnable” and that the NATO alliance “does function” as a deterrent against Russia.
He made the remarks at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change conference in London.
The UK’s MoD said on Tuesday that it plans to invest GBP 2.5 billion in military stockpiles and munitions “to improve fighting readiness” as it “takes learnings from the war in Ukraine”.
