This footage reportedly shows the Azov Special Forces unit destroying a Russian HQ somewhere in Ukraine along with a tank.
The images appear to show a Russian tank and Russian soldiers moving beneath some trees among some houses in a forested area. The images then show the area being hit by Ukrainian ordnance.
The footage was obtained from the Office of Strategic Communications (StratCom) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Wednesday, 17th August, along with a statement saying: “SSO [Special Operations Forces] ‘Azov’ destroyed the ‘Katsap’ headquarters and at least one enemy ‘BMW’.”
‘Katsap’ means ‘billy goat’ in Ukrainian and is often used to refer to Russians as it conjures up a stereotypical image of a Russian man with a beard, while ‘BMW’ is understood to have been an ironic reference to the tank that was reportedly blown up in the footage.
It is unclear where the images were shot but the Azov SSO recently reportedly destroyed a Russian ammunition depot, BMPs and seven soldiers in the Kharkiv region.
The SSO is a branch of the Ukrainian military that is part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and that is formed exclusively by Spetsnaz (special forces) units.
The SSO Azov-Kharkiv unit was created in Kharkiv on 1st May 2022 and is part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The unit says that it is “continuing the history of the legendary Azov regiment while preserving all its values and many years of military experience.”
The Azov Regiment, also known as the Azov Battalion, is a notorious group of soldiers who were officially incorporated into the National Guard of Ukraine in 2014, after recapturing Mariupol from pro-Russian separatists in June that year.
The Azov Regiment is said to have begun as a far-right, neo-Nazi group that started out as an urban militia and a political party. It has since expanded and, through service to Ukraine, has been incorporated into the Armed Forces. Azov, on a national level, failed in past elections to win any seats in the Ukrainian Parliament via its political branch.
Azov was originally a paramilitary militia known as the “men in black”. Its integration into Ukraine’s National Guard and the recruitment of many soldiers who were unaffiliated politically is said to have marginalised its most extreme elements and it is now often described by Western military experts as being “anti-Russian” and “ultranationalist”.
Azov made international headlines for its defence of the city of Mariupol before it was eventually overrun by Russian forces, forcing the notorious troops to seek shelter in the Azovstal steelworks. They eventually surrendered to Russian forces after weeks of siege.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 175th day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 17th August, Russia had lost about 44,100 personnel, 1,886 tanks, 4,162 armoured combat vehicles, 993 artillery units, 263 multiple launch rocket systems, 136 air defence systems, 233 warplanes, 196 helicopters, 792 drones, 190 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,054 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 93 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower, but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures. The Pentagon said last week that Russia had suffered between 70,000 and 80,000 casualties – deaths and injuries – since the beginning of its invasion.
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, are set to meet in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Thursday to review the current grain export deal.
The first ship to leave Ukraine under the grain export deal docked in Syria on Tuesday, 16th August.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that Zelensky, Erdogan and Guterres will also talk about “the need for a political solution to this conflict” and the ongoing situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — Europe’s largest — which is currently under Russian control.
Denis Pushilin, head of the pro-Russian, so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), has said in a letter to Kim Jong-un that North Korea and the DPR will develop “equally beneficial bilateral cooperation”, according to North Korean state media.
The authorities in Estonia are removing Soviet-era statues and monuments, with the government pledging to take down between 200 and 400 of them by the end of the year. Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said: “No one wants to see our militant and hostile neighbour foment tensions in our home.”
Estonia is also closing its border to over 50,000 Russians this week who had previously been issued visas and Finland has said that it will cut the number of visas issued to Russians to 10 per cent of the current amount from 1st September.
