This is the moment Ukrainian troops blast hidden Russian tanks in a field as the invasion enters its 83rd day.
The 59th Motorized Brigade, named after Yakov Gandziuk, a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, said they are continuing to clear their territory of “rare pigs” that have become a “particularly dangerous pest”.
The 59th Motorized Brigade said on May 17: “Soldiers of the Yakov Gandziuk Brigade continue to actively destroy the population of a particularly dangerous pest that has appeared on Ukrainian soil – rare pigs.
“No protection or armor will save them. Ukrainians are experienced farmers. Let’s get rid of all the filth from our fertile lands by their roots.”
The Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications (StratCom) also shared the footage with the message: “Soldiers of the 59th Motorized Brigade named after Yakov Gandziuk continue to actively destroy the population of a particularly dangerous pest that has appeared on Ukrainian soil.
“No protection, no armor will save them. Ukrainians are experienced farmers. Let us eradicate all filth from our fertile land by their roots. Believe in the Armed Forces of Ukraine!”
From February 24 to May 17, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at around 27,900 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military also claims that Russia has lost 1,235 tanks, 3,009 armored fighting vehicles, 578 artillery systems, 198 multiple launch rocket systems, 90 anti-aircraft systems, 201 warplanes, 167 helicopters, 2,109 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 13 vessels, 436 unmanned aerial vehicles, 43 units of special equipment and 97 cruise missiles.
The Ukrainian military added that the Russian Armed Forces’ greatest losses on May 16 were sustained in the Lyman and Zaporizhzhia directions.
Elsewhere, more than 260 Ukrainian soldiers left the Azovstal metallurgical plant and were taken to Russian-controlled territory last night. It is believed they will be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war.
Efforts to rescue the last remaining Ukrainian fighters holed up in the steelworks – located in the strategic port city of Mariupol – are said to be ongoing.
And Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested that he may block Finland’s and Sweden’s applications to join NATO after he accused the Nordic nations of harboring Kurdish militants whom he regards as “terrorists”.
May 17 marks the 83rd day of the campaign.
