This footage reportedly shows part of an operation that saw Azov Special Forces destroy a Russian ammunition depot, BMP armored personnel carriers, and take out seven soldiers in the Kharkiv region.
The footage was reportedly shot in the eastern part of the village of Ternova, in the Kharkiv Raion, five kilometers from the Russian border.
It was obtained from SSO Azov-Kharkiv on Monday, August 15, along with a statement saying: “The video shows footage of a special operation in the eastern part of Ternova village, Kharkiv region. During the operation, the soldiers of the SSO Azov-Kharkiv destroyed two cars, two BMPs, a control and observation point, a warehouse with ammunition and seven enemy soldiers.”
The SSO is a branch of the Ukrainian military that is part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and that is formed exclusively by special forces units.
The images were also relayed by Ukraine’s Chernihiv Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support.
The SSO Azov-Kharkiv unit was created in Kharkiv on May 1 of this year and is part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The unit says that it is “continuing the history of the legendary Azov regiment while preserving all its values ​​and many years of military experience.”
The Azov Regiment, also known as the Azov Battalion, is a notorious group of soldiers who were officially incorporated into the National Guard of Ukraine in 2014, after recapturing Mariupol from pro-Russian separatists in June that year.
The Azov Regiment is said to have begun as a far-right, neo-Nazi group that started out as an urban militia and a political party. It has since expanded and, through service to Ukraine, has been incorporated into the Armed Forces. Azov, on a national level, failed in past elections to win any seats in the Ukrainian Parliament via its political branch.
Azov was originally a paramilitary militia known as the “men in black”. Its integration into Ukraine’s National Guard and the recruitment of many soldiers who were unaffiliated politically is said to have marginalized its most extreme elements and it is now often described by Western military experts as being “anti-Russian” and “ultranationalist”.
Azov made international headlines for its defense of the city of Mariupol before it was eventually overrun by Russian forces, forcing the notorious troops to seek shelter in the Azovstal steelworks. They eventually surrendered to Russian forces after weeks of siege.
Zenger News contacted the SSO Azov-Kharkiv for further comment, as well as the Russian Ministry of Defense, but had not received a reply at the time of writing.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation.” Tuesday marks the 174th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and August 16, Russia had lost about 43,900 personnel, 1,880 tanks, 4,152 armored combat vehicles, 989 artillery units, 263 multiple launch rocket systems, 136 air defense systems, 233 warplanes, 196 helicopters, 790 drones, 190 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,049 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 92 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower, but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures. The Pentagon said last week that Russia had suffered between 70,000 and 80,000 casualties – deaths and injuries – since the beginning of its invasion.
Both Ukraine and Russia have reported further shelling near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — Europe’s largest — on Monday, August 15. Both sides have blamed each other. A Russian-installed regional official claimed that U.S.-made M777 howitzer heavy artillery strikes had hit near the nuclear power plant but Ukraine said Russian forces had shelled the area to make it look like Ukraine was attacking it.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged world leaders not to “lose to terrorism” or to “give in to nuclear blackmail.”
He added: “If now the world does not show strength and decisiveness to defend one nuclear power station, it will mean that the world has lost.” He also said: “If Russia’s actions cause a catastrophe, the consequences may also hit those who remain silent so far.”
Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed the plant’s security situation by telephone on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.
Ukrainian artillery has reportedly hit Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group of mercenaries’ headquarters in eastern Ukraine. Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai has said that the location of the Russian mercenary group’s headquarters was revealed by a Russian journalist, pro-Kremlin Sergei Sreda, who shared a photograph on Telegram of the base apparently showing its address.
Five men, including three from the U.K., one from Sweden and one from Croatia have denied being mercenaries fighting with Ukrainian forces against Russia, in a Russian proxy court. Britons John Harding, Dylan Healy, and Andrew Hill, Swedish citizen Mathias Gustafsson and Croatian Vjekoslav Prebeg appeared before a court – which is not internationally recognized – in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. Harding, Gustafsson and Prebeg could face death sentences, Russian media have claimed.
The British military is training 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers to handle weapons, to carry out first aid on the battlefield and to conduct urban warfare, with the goal of turning fresh recruits into combat-ready soldiers for the front in weeks. New Zealand, the Netherlands, Canada, Finland and Sweden have also sent military trainers to Britain.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed in a speech at an arms show that Russian weapons are years ahead of its rivals and that the country is prepared to provide its allies with advanced weaponry and work together to develop military technology. One of these weapons systems includes a dog-like robot that carries a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
Putin said that his country believes strongly in its ties to countries in South America, Asia, and Africa and “and is ready to offer our partners and allies the most modern types of weapons, from small arms to armored vehicles and artillery, combat aircraft and drones.”
Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have both said since the beginning of the invasion that Russia desired to work with China, India and Iran, among other countries, to form a new international order that is no longer dominated by the United States.
