This video purports to show a Ukrainian missile man scoring a direct hit on a sitting-duck Russian armored personnel carrier after it tried but failed to blend into a field.
The footage was obtained from the 1st Separate Special Purpose Brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces named after Ivan Bohun earlier on Friday, June 3.
The brigade said (in Ukrainian): “In the Kherson direction, three enemy armored personnel carriers, 20 troops and four mercenaries from the Wagner Private Military Company were destroyed as a result of coordinated work of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Separate Special Purpose Brigade named after Ivan Bohun, together with snipers from the 17th Tank Brigade and the Alpha Group with help from the RK-3 Corsar.”
Wagner Group mercenaries – who fight on the side of forces aligned with the Kremlin – have reportedly taken part in various conflicts around the world.
These include the civil wars in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic and Mali.
In areas where they have been deployed, Wagner operatives have been accused of war crimes, including rapes and robberies of civilians.
One notorious video published online allegedly shows a group of Wagner contractors bludgeoning to death a Syrian Army conscript accused of desertion.
Elements of the group have been linked – ironically, given Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated aim to “denazify” Ukraine – to Neo-Nazis and far-right extremists.
Many experts have speculated that the “private” group is actually a covert branch of the Russian Ministry of Defense and ultimately reports to the Kremlin.
The RK-3 Corsar is a portable anti-tank guided missile developed by the Luch Design Bureau, which is headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine. It entered service in 2017.
We contacted Russian and Ukrainian officials for comment but had not received a reply at the time of writing.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported earlier today that from February 24 to June 3, Russia had lost nearly 30,950 troops during the invasion.
The Ukrainian military also said that over the same period, Russia had lost 1,367 tanks, 3,366 armored fighting vehicles, 661 artillery systems, 207 multiple launch rocket systems, 95 air defense systems, 210 warplanes, 175 helicopters, 535 tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, 121 cruise missiles, 13 warships, 2,329 trucks and tankers, and 51 units of special equipment.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what President Putin initially called a “special military operation” to “demilitarize and denazify” Ukraine.
The Kremlin is still referring to the invasion as a “special military operation” but now says the goal is to “protect Donbass”. June 3 marks the 100th day of the invasion.
