This video purports to show the moment a Ukrainian Stugna-P anti-tank guided missile blows up a Russian mortar seen in the crosshairs.
The footage was obtained from the Operational Command North (OK North) of the Ukrainian Ground Forces on Thursday, June 2.
The images show the targeting system with its crosshairs set on the target before ordnance is fired with a deadening sound. A light can be seen to appear on screen as the projectile heads towards its target.
The person firing the weapon guides the missile towards its target, which it appears to hit.
It is currently unclear where exactly in Ukraine the images were filmed, but OK North said: “Enemy mortar shelling in the steppes of Donbas met with the owners of ‘Stugna’ of one of the units of the OK ‘North’.
“Clear shot and score… 4:0 in favor of ‘Stugna’!
“Believe in our warriors! Believe in victory!
“Glory to Ukraine!”
We contacted Russian and Ukrainian officials for comment but had not received a reply at the time of writing.
The Stugna-P or Skif anti-tank system was developed in Ukraine more than 10 years ago by the Luch Design Bureau, and has a guidance system developed and manufactured in Belarus.
While it is designed to destroy modern armored vehicles, including those with explosive reactive armor, the system can be used on hovering helicopters, weapons emplacements, and lightly armored objects at ranges from 5 kilometers (3+ miles) in daytime to 100 meters (328 feet) at night.
It can be manually steered toward targets or use its automated fire-and-forget tracking.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation.” June 3 marks the 100th day of the campaign.
From February 24 to June 2, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at around 30,850 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military also claims that Russia has lost 1,363 tanks, 3,354 armored fighting vehicles, 661 artillery systems, 207 multiple launch rocket systems, 95 anti-aircraft systems, 210 warplanes, 175 helicopters, 2,325 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 13 vessels, 521 unmanned aerial vehicles, 51 units of special equipment, and 120 cruise missiles.
Analysts say over 70 percent of the city of Sievierodonetsk is now controlled by invading Russian forces, with almost all critical infrastructure and housing destroyed.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement on June 1 that its Yars mobile missile systems, which can carry nuclear warheads and which boast a reported range of over 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles), were performing “intensive maneuvering operations on combat patrol routes in the Ivanovo Region”, east of the Russian capital Moscow.
This comes after President Joe Biden said he will send Kyiv more advanced rocket systems that will help to strike enemy forces from a longer distance. These rocket systems have double the range of the rocket systems used by Russian forces and are said to be much more accurate.
