Self-Proclaimed DPR Says It Destroyed Advancing Ukrainian Troops Using 'Grad'

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic has said that it has destroyed a group of advancing Ukrainian soldiers using a BM-21 'Grad' multiple launch rocket system.

The footage purports to show the Ukrainian forces being targeted by the pro-Russian weaponry at night, with thermal imaging showing a large explosion as the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) missile reportedly hit the Ukrainian soldiers.

The images were obtained from the People's Militia of the DPR on Monday, 9th January, along with a statement claiming: "In the course of conducting surveillance at night, the soldiers of the 9th regiment discovered with the help of a thermal imager an enemy group advancing. The identified target was destroyed using an MLRS BM-21 'Grad'."

We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a "special military operation". Today marks the 320th day of the war.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 9th January, Russia had lost about 111,760 personnel, 3,080 tanks, 6,147 armoured combat vehicles, 2,069 artillery units, 434 multiple launch rocket systems, 217 air defence systems, 285 warplanes, 275 helicopters, 1,856 drones, 723 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 4,809 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 183 units of special equipment.

Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his country’s forces are repelling numerous attacks on the city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Zelensky said on Sunday night: “Bakhmut is holding on despite everything. And even though most of the town has been destroyed by Russian strikes, our soldiers are repelling constant Russian attempts to advance. Soledar is holding on, even though there is even greater destruction and things are very difficult.”

Russia has said that it has killed over 600 Ukrainian soldiers in a strike on the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk, but Ukraine’s military and the town’s mayor have rejected this claim.

Ukrainian officials have said that at least two people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine, with the Governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, saying that one person had been killed in strikes on Bakhmut, while eight others in the region had been wounded.

Russia and Belarus have reportedly expanded their joint military training exercises in Belarus. The move comes amid concern that Moscow is pushing its ally to join the war in Ukraine.

Demands for a special court to investigate Moscow for “crimes of aggression” against Ukraine have been backed by UK politicians across the political spectrum.

Germany and the United States have joined France and agreed to send armoured fighting vehicles to Ukraine in a move that is seen as a significant boost to the country’s military capabilities on the battlefield.

Ukraine has been asking its Western allies for tanks for months, but the request has so far gone largely unheeded, despite Germany taking part in a tank swap deal under which Ukraine is being provided with Soviet-era tanks from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Greece, which are then supplied with modern German equipment.