Drone pilots put on a deadly fireworks show when they took out a Russian ammunition depot on the Black Sea’s Snake Island.
Footage of the attack shows the Ukrainian marksmen laughing as the tactical drone wipes out not only the ammo but a command post too.
Zenger News obtained the video from the Operational Command South (OC South) – a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces – yesterday (Tuesday, 3rd May).
The footage shows the Russian ammo depot and command post on Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, between the crosshairs.
An explosion is seen hitting the facility before a piece of equipment is also targeted.
The drone pilots can be heard laughing as missiles and shells explode one by one in a lethal fireworks display.
The OC South, which carried out the strikes using a Bayraktar drone, said: “Another ‘visit’ to enemy positions on Zmiinyi.”
Bayraktar TB2 drones – manufactured by Baykar from Istanbul, Turkey – are being used extensively by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) during the war.
Used for both surveillance and attacks, they are believed to be wreaking havoc on the invading Russians.
The drone is believed to have been involved in the destruction of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s flagship, the Moskva, last month.
The AFU said they launched anti-ship missiles at the cruiser after it was “distracted” by a TB2.
And the drone was also apparently used in an attack on two oil depots in Bryansk, Russia, last week.
The TB2 is reportedly so popular in Ukraine that a folk song about it has even been produced.
Snake Island – located in the Black Sea, near the Danube Delta – was famously attacked and captured by two warships of the Russian Navy on 24th February – the first day of the invasion.
But the Ukrainians have struck back at the tiny island’s Russian occupiers. On Monday, 2nd May, the Ukrainians destroyed two Russian boats near the island.
And on 30th April, Ukrainian forces attacked Russian targets on the island, destroying three anti-aircraft guns, a Strela-10 surface-to-air missile system, and a communications vehicle.
The General Staff of the AFU reported earlier today that Russia had lost about 24,500 troops in Ukraine over the course of the invasion thus far.
The AFU General Staff also said Russia had lost 1,077 tanks, 2,610 armored fighting vehicles, 491 artillery systems, 163 multiple launch rocket systems, 81 anti-aircraft systems, 194 warplanes, 155 helicopters, 1,867 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 10 vessels, 303 unmanned aerial vehicles, 38 units of special equipment and 87 cruise missiles over the same period.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is now calling a “special military operation” to “protect Donbas”. The invasion is now in its 70th day.
