Russian soldiers on the run from tank push

Dramatic footage shows Kremlin troops fleeing for their lives in face of Bakhmut counter-attack

RUSSIAN troops have been seen fleeing across open fields on the outskirts of Bakhmut as they were pursued by a tank-led Ukrainian counter-offensive that recaptured land on the edge of the besieged eastern city.

The T -72, a Soviet-era tank being used by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade, ploughed through a wooded area as it chased the Russians on to an artillery-scarred plain.

Footage was shared by a Ukrainian unit amid a two-day offensive around the area of the so-called “road of life”, the highway between Bakhmut and nearby Chasiv Yar which is used to resupply troops defending the last remaining area still held by Kyiv.

It came as another Ukrainian battalion claimed to have recaptured almost nine square kilometres from Russian forces in the area.

If confirmed, the gains would represent Ukraine’s biggest advance in the area for months, amid rumours that its armed forces were on the brink of being encircled by the invading Russians.

The footage of the tank appeared to show the hasty retreat that led to Kyiv’s armed forces reclaiming a strip of land around 3km wide and 2.6km deep on the south-western edge of Bakhmut.

“As a result of the offensive actions of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, units of the 72nd Brigade of the Russian Federation were defeated,” Andrii Biletskyi, the founder of Ukraine’s Azov battalion, said.

“In fact, the 6th and 8th companies of this brigade were completely destroyed. The entire area was completely liberated from the Russian occupying forces,” he added.

His video statement would confirm an earlier claim by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, who have spearheaded Moscow’s efforts to capture Bakhmut, that Russian units had abandoned their position in the city.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has repeatedly ignored the advice of his Western backers to withdraw from Bakhmut, which is not deemed strategically significant by some allies.

Military analysts have suggested that Bakhmut could be a potential target for Ukraine’s long-awaited spring counteroffensive given the substantial losses sustained by Russia in attempting to capture the city during a gruelling ninemonth battle – the longest and bloodiest of almost 15 months of war.

In a social media post, Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade said it had killed 64 Russian fighters, wounded 87 more and taken five prisoners in the advance.

Aerial footage filmed by drone showed their tank moving through the treeline while firing a machine gun, as Russian soldiers are seen turning and running for their lives.

Ukrainian soldiers, identified by their green tactical markings, are seen advancing behind the armoured fighting machine, picking off stragglers who remained in position.

Col Biletskyi reported that Kyiv’s forces had also damaged a “significant number” of Russian fighting vehicles, as well as ammunition depots and mortar positions in the charge.

Aerial footage showed the first of four Russian infantry fighting vehicles destroyed by Ukrainian artillery fire as they were lined up in an open field alongside the tree line.

First-person video shot via a Ukrainian soldier’s body camera showed a unit in a firefight with Moscow’s fleeing forces as they marched over the bodies of the Russians.

The Ukrainian success in counterattacks around Bakhmut has also highlighted the apparent disunity on the Russian front lines.

An unverified account, said to be of Russian volunteer fighter Anastasiya Kashevarova, wrote that there was “complete disunity of the front”, claiming Russian army forces are not allowed to communicate with Wagner.

For more than a month, Ukraine has been clinging to the final few streets in the south-western corner of Bakhmut. Russian forces have been attempting to encircle the remaining Ukrainian positions, but have sustained heavy casualties while doing so.

‘As a result of the offensive actions, units of the 72nd Brigade of the Russian Federation were defeated’