Ukrainian troops used a drone to drop a bomb on two Russian soldiers sheltering in a trench, as these images show.
Special Operations Forces (SSO) officer and former commander of the Azov Regiment, Maxim Zhorin, said defending soldiers helped the two Russian occupiers “find their way home”.
Zhorin said: “This is a short story about two occupiers who got lost on Ukrainian soil. The second company of the second battalion of SSO Azov helped them find their way home.”
The SSO officer added: “The best possible option for Russian pigs.”
The aerial footage shows two Russian soldiers entering a trench before a missile falls from the drone and apparently blasts their position.
We contacted the Special Operations Forces for further comment, as well as the Russian Ministry of Defense, but haven’t received a reply at the time of writing.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation”. June 30 marks the 126th day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and June 29, Russia had lost about 35,450 personnel, 1,572 tanks, 3,720 armored combat vehicles, 781 artillery units, 246 multiple launch rocket systems, 103 air defense systems, 217 warplanes, 185 helicopters, 640 drones, 142 cruise missiles, 14 warships, 2,598 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 61 units of special equipment.
Turkey has agreed to support Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership after having initially opposed the countries’ bids to join the military alliance.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had met with Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson at the NATO summit in Madrid.
Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary-General, said: “I am pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO.”
U.S. President Joe Biden congratulated the three countries, saying: “Congratulations to Finland, Sweden, and Turkey on signing a trilateral memorandum – a crucial step towards a NATO invite to Finland and Sweden, which will strengthen our Alliance and bolster our collective security – and a great way to begin the Summit.”
The Russian bombing on a shopping mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk has been described by President Zelenskyy as one of the “most brazen terrorist acts in European history”. Over 1,000 people are said to have been inside the building when it was hit by missiles.
The death toll has risen to 18 people confirmed dead, with another 59 injured and 25 being treated in hospital. Some 36 people are still unaccounted for.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the United Nations to visit the site and has demanded that Russia be expelled as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, accusing the country of having become a “terrorist state”.
Russia claimed on Tuesday that it had hit a nearby weapons depot, with the explosion sparking the shopping mall blaze.
NATO is planning to boost its quick reaction forces from 40,000 troops to over 300,000 troops.