This footage shows how a Russian observation post with a soldier on lookout was obliterated by Ukrainian special forces.
The images show a loan Russian soldier keeping a lookout in what appears to be a damaged building by a field.
Suddenly there is an explosion and a cloud of dust where the soldier was standing.
The images were obtained from the Eastern operational-territorial unit of the National Guard of Ukraine on Tuesday, 30th August, along with a statement saying: “This Russian ‘voyeur’ will no longer spy on the Ukrainian military.
“An observation post of the Russian occupiers made a ‘gesture of goodwill’ and was suddenly de-Nazified somewhere in the north of Kharkiv Oblast.”
They joked that the Russian soldier must have become confused about the time of day, given that he had “crept up quietly in broad daylight.” They also implied that the soldier had been taken out using a National Guard special forces “bird”, which they then referred to as a “combat drone”, that had been “grown in Kharkiv biolaboratories according to NATO standards.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 189th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 31st August, Russia had lost about 47,900 personnel, 1,974 tanks, 4,312 armoured combat vehicles, 1,091 artillery units, 285 multiple launch rocket systems, 152 air defence systems, 234 warplanes, 204 helicopters, 849 drones, 196 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,236 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 103 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower, but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
An adviser to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksiy Arestovych, has said that the country’s counteroffensive to retake Kherson will be a “slow operation to grind the enemy”.
Arestovych added: “Of course, many would like a large-scale offensive with news about the capture by our military of a settlement in an hour. But we don’t fight like that… funds are limited.”
President Zelensky has said that “heavy fighting” is ongoing in “almost the entire territory” of Kherson.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Command, said that Ukraine’s forces have successfully damaged bridges that cross the Dnieper River to Kherson, leaving them “impassable for heavy machinery”.
The Russian-installed leader of occupied Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, has reportedly fled back to Russia.
President Zelensky said that Ukraine’s parliament has endorsed several laws and ratifications to bring the country closer to the European Union. He added: “We are moving step by step towards full membership in the EU.”
The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, has died in Moscow aged 91. Tributes to the statesman, who passed away on Tuesday, 30th August, have been pouring in. Gorbachev has been praised for bringing an end to the Cold War with his policy of “openness” (glasnost).
