This footage reportedly shows Ukrainian special forces blowing up a key, strategic bridge in the occupied Donetsk region.
The images, which appear to have been filmed by a drone, show a large explosion, with the bridge seen clearly severed afterwards.
The images were obtained from the Command of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Monday, 22nd August, along with a statement saying: “We pay great attention to the destruction of logistics, supply routes and maneuvers of the Russian occupiers.
“For this purpose, [Special Operations] soldiers use a variety of methods and carry out attacks on many, in particular, sensitive areas for infrastructure temporarily controlled by the enemy.
“This video was shot a few weeks ago, but for some reason we’re only posting it today. As a result of the bombing of cities in the Donetsk region, it became an obstacle for the Russians.
“After the de-occupation, the destroyed Ukrainian objects will be restored. Unlike the Russian occupiers.”
The Special Operations Forces is part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and is made up exclusively of Spetsnaz (special forces) units. It was formed in 2016 and carries out tasks including intelligence gathering, special reconnaissance, sabotage and psychological warfare.
The images and statement were also relayed by the Office of Strategic Communications (StratCom) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 181st day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 23rd August, Russia had lost about 45,550 personnel, 1,921 tanks, 4,238 armoured combat vehicles, 1,033 artillery units, 266 multiple launch rocket systems, 146 air defence systems, 234 warplanes, 198 helicopters, 817 drones, 196 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,150 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 99 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower, but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, 49, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on Monday, 22nd August that almost 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel have been killed since the beginning of Russia’s invasion.
Russia’s security agency, the FSB – successor to the KGB – has accused Ukraine of killing Daria Dugina. The 29-year-old, whose father is Russian political commentator Alexander Dugin, 60, an ultranationalist Russian ideologue and Vladimir Putin ally, was killed in a car bomb on the outskirts of Moscow on Saturday night.
The FSB has claimed that a Ukrainian woman from the Azov Regiment was behind the killing, but former Russian MP and lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev, currently in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, has claimed that the attack was carried out by Russian partisans from a group allegedly called the National Republican Army.
Ponomarev claimed that the National Republican Army is an underground group in Russia geared towards overthrowing Putin’s regime. Ponomarev said: “This attack opens a new page in Russian resistance to Putinism.”
We have not been able to independently verify either of these claims.
The United Nations’ Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has reiterated his demand that fighting cease at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest. Guterres said, on Monday, 22nd August, that the world was at a “maximum moment of danger”, describing the situation at the plant as critical, as shelling in the area continues.
Russia has requested that the United Nations Security Council meet to discuss the Zaporizhzhia plant, according to Russian state-owned news agency RIA.
The US, the UK, Germany and France have urged for military restraint around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered to Russian forces after the Siege of Mariupol have accused Moscow of torture.
The only bridge across the Dnipro River in the city of Kherson, which is occupied by Russian forces, has been hit by US-supplied HIMARS rockets, according to Russian independent news agency Interfax.
