Russian Troop Films Fiery Remains of Camp After Ukraine UAV Strike

A video taken by a Russian soldier shows the fiery aftermath of a Ukrainian drone strike on his military vehicle as the war in Ukraine rages on toward its second anniversary.

In the footage, shared to X, formerly Twitter, by the account WarTranslated, the serviceman says that his vehicle was struck by five Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), causing the equipment on board to go up in flames. According to English captions on the video provided by WarTranslated, the soldier recorded the footage for his officer and says that most of his provisions “burned the f*** down” in the attack.

The Russian serviceman does show a handful of equipment that he was able to save in the attack, including some binoculars, but that “everything else burned down,” including the mattresses on board. He also says that he attempted to put out the flames but pans the camera to show an empty fire extinguisher at the site of the attack.

It is unclear where the video was taken from. Newsweek reached out to Russia’s defense ministry via email for more information.

The war between Russia and Ukraine, which reaches its two-year mark next week, has led to heavy losses on both sides of the frontlines. According to a report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Russia has lost more tanks than it started with at the start of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The British think tank added, however, that the Kremlin is likely able to sustain its vehicle fleet with those already at its disposal.

Russia also reportedly main gains in the Luhansk region west of the town of Kreminna, according to geolocated footage reviewed by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Ukraine officials also acknowledged that Russia made partial advances northwest of the eastern city of Bakhmut on Tuesday.

Russian milibloggers claimed that the Kremlin continued to advance toward Avdiivka as well, although the ISW was unable to confirm such reports. After months of brutal fighting for the small industrial town, Moscow’s troops have recently made gains toward Avdiivka, which is viewed as a gateway to Russia’s ability to take control of the Donbas region. Analysts have predicted that Ukraine will soon lose control of the town.

The ISW also noted Russian advancements west of Robotyne in the Zaporizhia region on Tuesday. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in its daily update to Facebook that Ukrainian air strikes successfully struck four Russian artillery systems, a command post, two ammunition depots and an electronic warfare system on Tuesday. Moscow reportedly launched 94 air strikes in the same time period, and Ukrainian officials said that some Russian attacks “resulted in killed and wounded civilians.”