New footage shared by Ukrainian paratroopers appears to show soldiers in a U.S.-supplied Stryker armored vehicle running over Russian fighters after running out of ammunition.
The brief video, shared by the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces on messaging app Telegram Monday, purports to show Kyiv troops chasing down Russian soldiers in the western Russian Kursk region.
Newsweek could not independently verify the clip, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Russia has been battling Ukraine in Kursk since August 2024, when Kyiv launched a surprise cross-border incursion into Russian soil. Ukraine still controls roughly half of the territory it seized in the late summer, although Moscow has been battling to peel back Kyiv's grip across the border.
Moscow has deployed North Korean fighters in the Kursk region in recent months, drawing international attention to the area where foreign troops crossed into Russia for the first time since World War II.
On Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry and a cohort of the country's influential military bloggers said Ukraine had launched renewed operations northeast of the Kursk border town of Sudzha, which Kyiv captured early on in August. Several senior Kyiv officials teased a fresh offensive, but Ukraine's military has not officially reported a new concerted push in Kursk.
What To Know
The Ukrainian military said the footage showed soldiers in the country's 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade in a Stryker armored vehicle operating in an unspecified area of Kursk. It is not clear when the video was filmed.
The paratroopers ran out of ammunition "after heavy fighting," the military said. Russian forces were "right next to them and posed a danger," according to the statement.
After running out of ammo a Ukrainian M1126 Stryker resorts to crushing Putin's savages individually in a maniacal yet righteous quest for justice. pic.twitter.com/qNDqQpfVQk
— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) January 6, 2025The Stryker crew in the video "chases the enemy across the field and crushes the Russians with their armor and wheels," Kyiv's airborne forces said. The Ukrainian soldier driving the Stryker homed in on Russian troops while the gunner "climbed out of the hatch and opened fire on the Russians with small arms," according to the military.
The U.S. has sent more than 400 Stryker vehicles to Ukraine since February 2022, according to Pentagon documents. Many of the Stryker vehicles have reportedly deployed to Kursk in recent months.
Ukrainian officials have praised how U.S.-donated equipment like Strykers, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and the 31 M1 Abrams tanks performed against Russian troops. It is a point of pride for Moscow to target U.S.-supplied equipment.
Who Said What
Ukraine's Air Assault Forces on Telegram on Monday: "If a paratrooper runs out of ammunition, he crushes the enemy with his armor and wheels!"
Russia's Defense Ministry on Telegram on Monday night: "Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost up to 485 servicemen in the Kursk direction."
What Happens Next
Russia sent a senior defense official to Kursk to oversee Moscow's operations against Ukraine in Kursk, and will want to beat back Kyiv in the region as quickly as possible. Kursk will likely figure into any peace talks that start up after President-elect Donald Trump heads back into the White House later this month, with both sides wanting to negotiate from a position of strength.
.png)
English (US) ·