Combat video shows what Ukraine says are its special ops forces destroying enemy armor, capturing the cost of Russia's new assaults in the east

• Ukraine's military published new footage showing what it says is the destruction of Russian armor.
• The video captures Russian tank and vehicle losses near Avdiivka, Kyiv's special ops forces said.
• Avdiivka, in eastern Ukraine, is one area where Moscow recently launched a renewed assault.

New combat footage shared by Ukraine's military on Friday captures what it says is the destruction of Russian tanks and armor, highlighting the increasing toll of Moscow's new assaults in the east.

Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SSO) said it detected Russian armor heading toward Avdiivka, a small city in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region that's currently surrounded on three sides by Russian-occupied territory. It's one area where Moscow's forces recently launched a "renewed offensive," according to US officials. 

The SSO said it used a combination of first-person view (FPV) drones, US-provided Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, and mortars to stop the advancing Russians and destroyed four armored personnel carriers, two tanks, and an unspecified number of soldiers. Insider was unable to immediately verify the details of the video or Moscow's troop and equipment losses. 

In a video of the fierce fighting — which the SSO posted to Telegram and X, the platform formally known as Twitter — several explosions can be seen around the apparent Russian armor force as it attempts to maneuver through open fields. At one point, an armored vehicle appears to bump into another and nudge it forward before they are both engulfed in a fireball.  

White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on October 13 that over the previous few days Russia had launched a "renewed offensive" in eastern Ukraine, including around Avdiivka and Lyman, a city just under 100 miles to the north. He said that the move was not a surprise, given that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not given up on his ultimate goal of conquering Ukrainian territory.

Kirby said at that time that amid Russia's offensive, its military appeared to again be using "human wave tactics" — sending poorly trained and equipped soldiers straight onto the battlefield without preparation. This gruesome strategy is not new to Moscow; it relied heavily on this method during the brutal fighting that took place this past winter. 

"Russia continues to show no regard for the lives of its own soldiers, willingly sacrificing them in pursuit of Putin's goals, while Ukraine continues to fight bravely, effectively, and smartly," Kirby said. "And I would add that we have seen the Ukrainians work very hard to repel these offensive maneuvers, and they appear to have done just that."

Experts at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, wrote in a Thursday analysis that Russia lost dozens of tanks and armored vehicles during the initial days of its assault around Avdiivka. The experts also cited a Ukrainian military official who reported several Russian aircraft losses and said that the official's announcements suggests that Moscow is paying a high cost to prop up its fight around Avdiivka.   

"Continued materiel losses will likely continue to slow down the Russian pace of advance in the area," these experts wrote.

Ukraine's SSO said Friday on Telegram that while Russia is engaged in offensive actions around Avdiivka and is relentless in its attempts to surround the city, Kyiv has managed to "firmly" defend the area and inflict "considerable losses" on Moscow's forces, which includes the recent destruction of armor. 

"I am grateful to all our guys who are holding their ground and destroying the occupier day after day," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said of Avdiivka and other efforts in a Friday statement. "These days, Russian losses are really impressive, and it is exactly the kind of losses of the occupier that Ukraine needs."

Meanwhile, in the southern direction, Ukraine unveiled its new arsenal of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, that it secretly received from the US. Kyiv's forces used the long-awaited ATACMS to strike two Russian airbases earlier this week and destroy several helicopters, publicly revealing the deadly long-range missiles in impressive fashion. 

Western intelligence later suggested that beyond the short-term victory for Ukraine, the attack may inflict lasting damage on Russia's airpower and force Moscow to pull its key bases and logistics hub back from the front lines.