Russian Troops Sent Into Battle on Motorbikes 'Destroyed'

Footage and images posted online appear to depict a squad of Russian troops on motorbikes coming under attack from Ukrainian forces.

A video montage showed Russian tanks, armored vehicles and motorcycles engaged by Ukrainian drones and strikes. Images accompanying the video show over a dozen motorcycles scattered around an armored vehicle along a dirt road. The text at the end of the video lists targets "destroyed" by the "Black Zaporozhians" (a.k.a. Ukraine's 72^nd Mechanized Brigade), which includes 16 tanks and 19 motorcycles.

The video and images were posted online by Anton Gerashchenko, who has served as an adviser to Ukraine's internal affairs minister. Newsweek contacted the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment.

The post read: "Vuhledar direction, Russian losses courtesy of Ukrainian Warriors from the 72^nd Separate Mechanized Brigade.

"Note the large number of burned and destroyed Russian motorcycles, sent into combat together with heavy equipment – the Russian soldiers were sent into the meat grinder consciously."

Ukrainian officials on Monday claimed that Russia lost its highest-ever number of artillery systems in a one-month period. An official post from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that 1,415 Russian artillery systems were destroyed in June, which it said was a record since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Kyiv also claimed that 1,160 artillery systems were destroyed in May, putting Moscow's artillery losses at around 14,600.

The posts didn't clarify where the data used in the report originated, however. Russia doesn't publish its military losses, and analysts are skeptical of reports by both sides.

Ukraine also claimed Russia suffered its second-highest monthly personnel losses in June – 35,030 soldiers.

The British government estimated in May that Russia's total casualties had likely reached half a million.

Moscow's forces are pushing to make significant gains in eastern Ukraine, and the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which comprise the Donbas area, are suffering constant shelling. Russia's tactics include digging tunnels to get behind enemy lines and launch attacks, according to its defense ministry.

Ukraine has also been focusing its efforts on the occupied Crimean peninsula, which it has pledged to retake.

Russia has accused Ukrainian forces of using U.S.-made ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) to attack targets in Crimea. The Russian Union of Travel Industry (RUTI) said Sunday that there had been a 25 to 30 percent decline in bookings in Crimea after debris from Ukrainian missiles intercepted by air defenses landed on a beach in the port city of Sevastopol on June 23.

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