On the front line in Avdiivka, where the Russian army is trying to win by the end of the year, footage of a rare drama was captured, even as the war in Ukraine enters its 21st month.

“Episode from the battle for Avdiivka, from the 47th mechanized brigade. No comments. I have no words, to be honest,” writes Ukrainian military correspondent Ilya Ponomarenko, who shared the video on his “X” page.

A video from a remote drone shows how a group of 3 Russian soldiers, one of whom was seriously wounded, separated from their group. Two combat soldiers drag their comrade to evacuate, but at one point decide to abandon him, apparently realizing that they are too far from their own lines.

The footage then shows the wounded soldier, although unable to walk, still conscious and begging his comrades not to leave him, trying to crawl after them. CAREFULLY! Images that can have a strong emotional impact:

Then the recording is “cut”, the next sequence captures the Russian servicemen, who have abandoned their comrade, stopping to rest under a tree destroyed by the bombing. Although it is not clear what happened, it is possible that the Ukrainian military, who edited the footage, did not want to see how the wounded Russian was destroyed by a drone or other of their weapons.

The calmness of the surviving Russian soldiers, however, seems to contradict this hypothesis. What is reliable is that the footage shows two Russian soldiers being struck while they were resting by what appeared to be a mortar round or a small kamikaze drone. One of them was badly hit and gutted by the impact, and the recording was hidden by those who edited it, so that it would not be seen how it was torn by a shell.

After the initial moment of shock, the surviving Russian soldier sees what has happened to his comrade, throws a blanket or coat over his lifeless body, and then flees the scene to try and save his life.

Avdiivka, a new “meat grinder” for the Russian army

The video, shot by Ukrainian drone operators, came as the General Staff in Kyiv again for several weeks reported Russian military casualties at nearly 1,000 in its daily tally.

While the balance sheet published by Kyiv should always be treated with at least a shadow of skepticism, as information warfare is waged by both sides of the conflict, multiple independent sources have confirmed that heavy fighting is taking place around Avdiyivka, a city in Donetsk Oblast, about 90 kilometers southwest of Bakhmut.

Several videos that appeared on social networks on October 20 and 21 showed that Russian troops rushed into battle near Avdiivka, including armored vehicles and tanks, as part of new attempts at mechanized shelling, but suffered a real disaster.

Other recordings, made in mid-November, showed that after new attacks, some areas of the front turned into “cemeteries” of Russian armored vehicles and tanks, as Moscow forces stepped up their offensive.

Russian troops are trying to hand Putin victory by the end of the year

The US Institute for the Study of War confirmed in its latest assessment late last week that Russian forces continued operations near Avdiyvka and made confirmed progress.

Some analysts note that the General Staff in Moscow, led by General Valery Gerasimov, is trying to give President Vladimir Putin another front-line victory before the end of the year and his traditional New Year’s speech. It is possible that during this speech Putin will announce his candidacy for a new presidential term.

The last offensive victory of Russian troops in the war in Ukraine took place at the end of spring this year, when they managed to capture the city of Bakhmut. But this victory was mostly returned by Wagner’s mercenaries, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who had meanwhile fallen from grace.

The last major successes of the Russian regular army date back to last summer, when they captured the cities of Severodonetsk and Lischansk in late June and early July, respectively.

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