Dramatic new video released by Ukrainian military intelligence shows what they say is one of their special forces’ teams carrying out a successful raid in which they planted mines on a road and engaged a platoon of Moscow’s forces inside Russia.
The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR) said it carried out the raid in a rural section of Russia’s Belgorod region, inflicting losses on enemy forces in their own territory.
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In the video, according to the HUR, the reconnaissance team mined the only road used by Russians in the Grayvoron district of the Russian Federation. Additionally, they attacked what they say is a Russian platoon’s fortified position using mortars and small arms.
As a result of the artillery and small arms fire, along with the detonation of Ukrainian mines, the enemy suffered an indeterminate number of casualties.
As the HUR reported on Jan. 5, active engineering work was underway at the Russian positions at that time, as they were waiting for an inspection from Moscow at the time of the special operation attack. Although deeming the attack successful, the HUR said the exact number of eliminated and wounded Russians is being clarified.
“In the Hraivoronsky district of the Belgorod region, the top leadership of the Russian occupation army planned the inspection because of the dissatisfaction and complaints of the local personnel about the poor conditions of service,” HUR reports.
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HUR Video Release Notes
Text accompanying the video the HUR released on Telegram reads:
“Raid on the occupants’ lair – the scouts inflicted another loss for the enemy.
“In connection with the increasing number of cases of sabotage by the Russians and for the sake of protecting Ukrainian civilians who live in communities near the state border and suffer from attacks by the aggressor, the soldiers of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine implemented a set of special actions.
“According to the obtained intelligence, the top leadership of the occupying army of the Russian Federation planned an inspection of the Russian positions in the Graivoron district of the Belgorod region due to dissatisfaction and complaints of the personnel there about poor service conditions.
“Before the arrival of the Moscow ‘inspectors,’ the ordinary invaders were confused – they began to carry out active engineering work. To inflict losses on the enemy and worsen his morale and psychological state, special officers of the HUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine planned and carried out a special operation.
“During the execution of the task, the scouts mined the only road used by the invaders in the specified area and also attacked a Russian platoon stronghold.
“As a result of the fire raid with the use of small arms and mortars, as well as the detonation of Ukrainian mines, the enemy suffered losses. The number of eliminated and wounded occupiers is being specified.”
Video Timeline Rundown
The daytime video begins with well-equipped Ukrainian soldiers with faces blurred digging holes with trenching shovels and planting what appears to be French HPD-1 (or -2) anti-vehicle mines in ruts of a dirt road HUR said is in Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.
Then the video switches to a feed from a soldier’s helmet looking over the sights of his battle rifle taking prone or kneeling shots from behind a small leaf-covered knoll into a thicket of woods. His rifle’s crack seems to be the opening salvo in the attack the HUR said is against a Russian platoon, not identified by unit designation.
Following this opening shot, there is a lull. After a few seconds, the soldier begins quickly firing repeated single shots against the unseen (by the camera, at least) enemy among the trees. He is soon joined by a cacophony of full-auto fire from heavier weapons in the special ops unit.
The ground-level footage is interrupted with infrared (IR) video from above, using some advanced IR detectors that appear to show tell-tale heat signatures and movement of unidentified figures among the trees.
The scene then shifts to helmet-cam video of soldiers hurrying down a road and making their way into the wooded area adjacent to the road. This is interspersed with more aerial footage in both optical and IR spectra.
The outro is more drone video showing explosions and ensuing fires among the purported enemy positions.
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