This footage purports to show how Ukrainian artillery took out a Russian 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzer in a precision strike in eastern Ukraine.
The footage shows how the howitzer billows smoke and erupts into flames after being hit before it bursts into pieces in a huge explosion moments later. The self-propelled howitzer had been hiding in a tree line in northern Kharkiv Oblast but was spotted by a Ukrainian drone.
Zenger News obtained the footage from the Eastern Operational-Territorial Command of the National Guard of Ukraine, the country’s national gendarmerie and internal military force, on August 29.
The Eastern Operational-Territorial Command said: “Ukrainian defenders demilitarized Russian self-propelled guns in Kharkiv Oblast. The defense forces destroyed a Russian 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled anti-aircraft missile capable of striking at a distance of 29 kilometers [18 miles].
“Together with the artillery installation, the ‘gesture of goodwill’ was carried out by ammunition together with personnel from the Russian occupation forces. It happened in the north of Kharkiv Oblast, near Ukraine’s state border with the occupying country.
“This is the result of joint work by the artillery reconnaissance of the National Guard and the artillery calculation of one of the brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Guardsmen and SSO [Special Operations Forces] representatives scouted the target with the help of a UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle], adjusted fire and verified the results.
“Artillerymen from the Armed Forces inflicted precise and filigree fire damage on the enemy self-propelled guns. The enemy will be defeated! Ukraine will win!”
Zenger News contacted the Eastern Operational-Territorial Command 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”. Monday marks the 184th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and August 29, Russia had lost about 47,100 personnel, 1,947 tanks, 4,269 armored combat vehicles, 1,060 artillery units, 279 multiple launch rocket systems, 149 air defense systems, 234 warplanes, 203 helicopters, 844 drones, 196 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,188 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 101 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower, but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he held a secret meeting with representatives from the country’s defense and security sectors on Sunday, adding: “All the issues we considered are important, but secret, I cannot go into detail.”
The meeting was reportedly attended by armed forces chiefs, the heads of the intelligence agencies, representatives from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, and others.
Ukrainian officials said on Sunday that Russian forces had shelled Ukrainian towns across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with artillery.
Oleksandr Starukh, the Governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, said that Russian forces had hit civilian infrastructure in the city of Zaporizhzhia and in the town of Orikhiv, to the east.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is waiting for its officials to receive clearance so they can visit the plant. But Ukrainian Energy Minister Lana Zerkal has said she is not convinced that Russia is negotiating in good faith.
The United States’ State Department has said in a statement that Russia does not want to acknowledge the grave radiological risk at the nuclear power plant, adding that it was the reason it has blocked the final draft of a nuclear non-proliferation treaty deal.
Ukraine is set to experience its coldest winter in decades, according to the head of the state gas company Naftogaz, Yurii Vitrenko. Germany has said that it is replenishing its gas stocks faster than expected despite Russian supply cuts.
The European Union’s foreign ministers are expected to make it harder for Russian tourists to get visas as of next week. The move falls short of banning Russian tourists outright, but it is expected to make obtaining travel documents significantly more complicated and costly.
