Drone footage from the Ukraine War in Kherson depicts fierce close combat

A Kherson resident's drone film captures a particularly special and uncommon look at close fighting between members of two professional militaries.

The conflict near the Antonovsky Bridge on February 24th, which was part of the assault for Kherson, was captured on camera.

Without any other information, the photos depict a section of mechanized armored vehicles, including two BRDM-2s, and a group of roughly 12 to 16 mounted infantry approaching from the north to survey the ruins of a downed artillery convoy in the south. They are unaware that around three squads of enemy infantry, or a total of 20–30 soldiers, are already waiting for them west of the road to launch a close-range ambush.

Let's put the video in perspective now.

This was captured on February 24 in Kherson.

At that moment, the Ukrainians defended the north as Russian soldiers crossed the bridge from the south.

The assault on the berm were actually Russian soldiers, while the two BRDMs were actually Ukrainian.

We were able to pinpoint the precise location of this combat after comparing the area with real-time map photos.

Additionally, we compared the military equipment in this film to "comfirmed" wartime losses on both sides.

Our investigation revealed that, up to this point, no Russian-operated BRDM losses had been recorded there; nevertheless, BRDM-2 losses had been recorded under Ukrainian losses, and five of these had been lost at Kherson.

Thus, we learned that these had to be BRDM-2s from Ukraine.

We now made an effort to locate the dissable convoy. Given that the position of the convoy coincided with the frontline's movement at the time, with Russian forces crossing the bridge, it was initially assumed that the convoy was Russian. However, a few observations have caused us to reconsider this.

There are no markings on the cars. Russian automobiles are almost uniformly lettered. Despite our belief that they do not actually mark every vehicle (SF operations, for instance), this routine convoy ought to have been marked. That wasn't the situation. We dug a little bit harder, but it's also possible that the markings were simply hidden by the drone camera's perspective.

We checked verified car losses on both sides once more. Only a few D-30 howitzers were listed by Russia, and none of the images to support the losses were taken near Kherson. So we looked at the Ukrainian side, and there were in fact a few howitzers listed. Two Ukrainian 12mm 2A65 Msta-B howitzers were placed beneath them.
After checking at their photos, we were astonished to see that the artillery was indeed present in the same locations as in the movie. Additionally, it was evident from the images that none of the vehicles had any markings. Consequently, it was determined that the convoy was, in fact, a Ukrainian convoy.

This assisted us in reaching the conclusion that

To check the ruins of a wrecked Ukrainian artillery convoy, a section of two Ukrainian BRDM-2s was despatched from the north to the south along with two squads of 12–16 more men. They might have been sent in to look for survivors and scout for hostile activity. They were unaware that three Russian squads totaling 20–30 soldiers had established up positions west of them on and behind a berm when they were halfway to their AO. The Russians began to engage them with grenades and small arms fire when they observed them approaching because it appeared they lacked anti-tank weaponry. They might have previously used them on the convoy before.

The Ukrainian soldiers riding the BRDMs dismounted and landed close to them in the ditch. A few others hid behind the roadside poles as well, but they were attacked by grenades. Overall, the ambush had a greater impact on the front BRDM and its soldiers. They were considerably more dispersed than the men from the second BRDM, and it appeared that it would take them a lot longer to flee. When the video ends, the second BRDM had already begun to retreat while the first had stayed on the scene. As seen by the photos of the missing Ukrainian BRDM, it is highly likely that these two BRDMs were later destroyed on that route. There are no other reports of confirmed male casualties from that combat.

From this particular conflict, no Russian or Ukrainian numbers were disclosed.This assisted us in reaching the conclusion that

To check the ruins of a wrecked Ukrainian artillery convoy, a section of two Ukrainian BRDM-2s was despatched from the north to the south along with two squads of 12–16 more men. They might have been sent in to look for survivors and scout for hostile activity. They were unaware that three Russian squads totaling 20–30 soldiers had established up positions west of them on and behind a berm when they were halfway to their AO. The Russians began to engage them with grenades and small arms fire when they observed them approaching because it appeared they lacked anti-tank weaponry.
No Russian or Ukrainian numbers from this particular clash were released.

WarLeaks-Military Blog