Russian troops demolish Kharkiv region while shelling other places

The footage is intended to show Russian troops using controlled demolitions to clear land in Ukraine of mines.

The official clip comes as Russian forces shelling other areas of the country, resulting in fatalities.

Zenger News received the footage from the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of the Russian Federation on Thursday.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the clip showed “settlement demining in Kharkov Oblast.”

The focus of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is now clearly on the eastern Donbass region. However, Russian troops are also currently occupying parts of northern and eastern Kharkiv Oblast, where the footage is said to have been filmed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the invasion could leave Donbass uninhabited and accused Russia of committing genocide in the region.

The city of Sievierodonetsk is currently suffering from an onslaught of Russian shells and there are reports of three explosions overnight in the city of Dnipro.

The death toll from shelling in Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv on May 26 has now reached nine people, including a baby.

Zelenskyi said late Thursday that Ukraine’s lives are lost every time the West delays putting more pressure on Russia.

His Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine could not counter the Russian offensive without more heavy weapons.

US officials said the Biden administration is considering supplying Ukraine with the M142 High Mobility artillery-missile system.

The maximum firing range of the lightweight multiple rocket launcher developed for the US Army in the late 1990s is 186 miles.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported earlier on Friday that from Feb. 24 to May 27, Russia lost about 29,750 troops, in addition to 1,322 tanks, 3,246 armored fighting vehicles, 623 artillery systems, 201 multiple-missile systems, 93 air defense systems, 206 combat aircraft, 170 Helicopters, 503 unmanned aerial vehicles, 115 cruise missiles, 13 warships, 2,226 military vehicles and fuel tankers, and 48 units of special equipment.

While the Russian Defense Ministry earlier on Friday reported that Ukraine lost 179 combat aircraft, 127 helicopters, 1,019 unmanned aerial vehicles, 323 air defense systems, 3,266 tanks and armored fighting vehicles, 433 multiple missile systems, 1,682 artillery systems and 3,190 military vehicles in the same period.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what Russian President Vladimir Putin originally described as a “special military operation” to “demilitarize and denazify” Ukraine.

The Kremlin still speaks of a “military special operation,” but now says the goal is to “protect Donbass.” May 27 marks the 93rd day of the invasion.

This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.