Ukraine Hits 'Platoon of Russian Tanks' at Refueling Point

Ukrainian forces destroyed four Russian T-80 tanks and a refueling point in an attack, according to social media posts sharing video footage of the aftermath in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.

The clips, yet to be independently verified, were shared on X, formerly Twitter, by two accounts, OSINTtechnical and Tendar.

Both videos show similar footage, depicting soldiers walking through wooded areas, with a number of vehicles on fire. The clips show debris and damaged vehicles. At one point a soldier climbs into a vehicle which appears to have been burned out from a fire.

OSINTtechnical shared the video with the caption, "Luhansk Oblast, Ukrainian forces successfully hit a refueling point for a platoon of Russian tanks, destroying at least four Russian T-80BVM MBTs and a MAZ 531605 fuel tanker."

Tendar captioned the footage, writing "This Russian troop concentration made up by four T-80BVN and fuel truck was hit by Ukrainian forces somewhere in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region. The devastating strike totally destroyed all Russian vehicles."

Luhansk Oblast is a far eastern region of Ukraine, near the border of Russia. In late September of 2022, Russia declared annexation of the oblast, an act viewed as illegal by most United Nations countries.

Ukraine controlled 5 percent of the region as of July 2024. This includes settlements Hrekivka, Nadiia and Stelmakhivka, areas which continually see active conflict.

Newsweek has reached out to the Kremlin and Ukraine's Ministry of Defense via email for comment.

The Russia-Ukraine war is in a critical phase, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky having recently reshuffled key members of his administration, in order to inject "new energy" into his government as the war with Russia heads toward a potentially decisive stage.

This reshuffle comes at a critical moment, with the war now being over 900 days long.

The humanitarian toll is continuing to rise, with a recent missile strike on a Ukrainian military institute in the city of Poltava and a nearby hospital having killed 55 people with 328 others wounded, as per Ukraine's Interior Ministry.

Ukraine began a surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region on August 6 and continues to make headway into Russia's border regions.

This has drawn condemnation from Moscow, who have also criticized the West's support for this incursion.

On Wednesday, Maria Zakharova, Russia's director of the Foreign Ministry press department warned of a painful response after NATO backed the Kursk incursion.

"We would like to warn such irresponsible political in the EU, NATO and overseas that in the event of corresponding aggressive steps by the Kiev regime, Russia's response will follow immediately... and will be extremely painful," Zakharova said on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.

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