The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage purportedly showing the work of snipers in Donbass, where they are supporting Moscow’s ongoing offensive.
One clip shows a pair of sharpshooters whom the ministry claims are eliminating a machine gun crew that was hindering an assault unit from moving forward. The short black-and-white video shows the moment one of the snipers took his shots in a wooded area.
According to the Defense Ministry, the pair had to cross minefields to reach their target and perform the mission amid constant Ukrainian shelling and drone attacks. The snipers managed to hit their target from a distance of one kilometer, the ministry said.
One of the snipers put the distance between him and his target at 750 meters, adding that he “eliminated the machine gunner with the first shot.” The man identified only by his callsign ‘Derbent’ also said that he had previously hit targets at a distance of up to 1,500 meters.
Another video shows a separate group of snipers equipped with large-bore rifles ambushing a Ukrainian unit that sought to reinforce the front line. The clip shows a group of men dressed in camouflage and equipped with garnished nets setting up a position in the bushes. One of them can then be seen making several shots.
The clip then switches to black-and-white footage presumably taken with a camera the snipers had with them, as well as from a drone flying in the area. The second part of the video shows a group of Ukrainian soldiers moving through the bushes at a certain distance from the snipers, with the Russians shooting at them.
According to the Defense Ministry, Russian forces discovered a path regularly used by Kiev to replenish troops at the front in the southern part of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The snipers were then deployed to set up an ambush and disrupt the enemy’s movements.
Moscow’s forces are continuing offensive operations in Donbass and northeastern Kharkov Region. Russian troops have been steadily moving forward since seizing the strategic town of Avdeevka back in February. The Russian army has taken control over a total of four villages in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and in Kharkov Region over the past week alone, according to the Defense Ministry.