This footage purports to show a Russian howitzer in an open field in Ukraine being blown up in an explosion.
Zenger News obtained the video from Vitaliy Kim, a Ukrainian businessman and politician who has been the Governor of Mykolaiv Oblast since 2020, on June 16.
Kim said: “Minus another Msta-B of the orcs. Thank you 28th.”
The 2A65 Msta-B is a Soviet towed 152.4mm howitzer that entered service in 1987. Its operators also include the Ukrainian military.
“28th” refers to the 28th Separate Mechanised Brigade, a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
It is not clear where exactly in Ukraine the strike took place.
Kim has become widely known for his charismatic leadership and his wit and mockery of the Russian Army.
His office was hit by a Russian rocket on March 29, killing at least 31 people. His father is of Koryo-saram ancestry.
We contacted Russian and Ukrainian officials for comment but had not received a reply at the time of writing.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation” to “liberate the Donbas.” June 17 marks the 114th day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and June 17, Russia had lost about 33,150 personnel, 1,456 tanks, 3,563 armored combat vehicles, 734 artillery units, 233 multiple launch rocket systems, 97 air defense systems, 215 warplanes, 180 helicopters, 593 drones, 129 cruise missiles, 13 warships, 2,496 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 55 units of special equipment.
Washington has told China it risks ending up on the “wrong side of history” following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s assurances to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Beijing supports Russian “sovereignty.”
Thousands of civilians remain trapped in the key eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, where the water supply is reported to be dwindling. Hundreds of civilians are taking shelter in the bunkers beneath the city’s Azot chemical plant.
Luhansk Oblast governor Serhiy Haidai said earlier this week that all three bridges into Sievierodonetsk had been destroyed, making delivering supplies and evacuating civilians impossible.
President Joe Biden has promised Kyiv another one billion dollars in security assistance and weapons. And General Mark Milley says Russia has lost around 20 to 30 percent of its armored forces during the ongoing invasion.
Former Russian President and staunch Vladimir Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev has derided French, German, and Italian leaders visiting Kyiv as “fans of frogs, liverwurst, and spaghetti.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, June 16.
On June 8, the European Parliament adopted a resolution recommending that the European Union grant Ukraine the status of candidate country for EU membership. Some 438 Members of the European Parliament voted in favor of the resolution, with 65 voting against and 94 abstaining.
