Russian troops use a BM-21 Grad mobile rocket launcher to wreak havoc on Ukrainian defenses, as seen in a released video.
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) shared the video on May 31 with an update on their ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine.
The MoD said: “During an inspection of the Azovstal plant underground facilities in Mariupol, where the surrendered Nazis of the Ukrainian Azov Brigade were hiding, Russian servicemen found an isothermal van.
“152 bodies of dead fighters and servicemen of the AFU were stored in the van with a broken cooling system.
“Before surrendering, the Azov command publicly appealed to Zelenskyy to take the bodies of the dead so their families could bury them on Kiev-controlled territory.
“However, there were no requests from Kiev to receive the bodies of the dead at the Azovstal plant.
“Moreover, during an inspection of the van, Russian sappers [combat engineers] found four mines under the bodies of the dead Ukrainian soldiers.”
The statement continued: “Based on the results of interrogating the captured Azov fighters, it was established that the mining of the bodies was carried out on direct orders from Kiev.
“The purpose of the provocation is to accuse Russia of deliberately destroying the bodies and preventing their transfer to relatives in order to save the Kiev regime’s political ‘reputation’ and that of Zelenskyy personally.
“In the near future, the Russian side plans to hand over the bodies of Ukrainian fighters and servicemen found in the Azovstal plant to Ukrainian representatives.
“During the day, high-precision air-based missiles hit four control points as well as 13 areas of concentrated Ukrainian manpower and military equipment.
“Operational-tactical, army and unmanned aviation hit 3 command posts, 69 areas of concentrated manpower and military equipment, one radar station and two ammunition depots of the AFU near Raigorodok and Nikolaevka, Donetsk People’s Republic.
“The attacks resulted in the elimination of over 290 nationalists and 23 weapons and military equipment. 1 Su-25 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force was shot down near Kobzatsy, Nikolaev region.
“Russian air defense units shot down six Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles near Donetsk, Makeevka in Donetsk People’s Republic, Popasnaya in Luhansk People’s Republic, Liptsy, Bolshie Prokhody in Kharkov region, including one UAV shot down near Snake Island.
“Missile troops and artillery hit 38 command posts, 417 areas of concentrated manpower and military equipment, and 46 artillery positions and mortar batteries.
“In total, 184 Ukrainian aircraft and 128 helicopters, 1,070 unmanned aerial vehicles, 325 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,342 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 454 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,738 field artillery and mortars, and 3,311 military vehicles have been destroyed during the operation,” the Russian statement claimed.
