Combat footage from the front line in Ukraine appears to show a Russian soldier headbutt a Ukrainian drone and escape unscathed.
The footage was shared by multiple Russian Telegram channels, including SHOT, which posts updates on the Ukraine war. It said the incident took place in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, where Russian forces kick-started an offensive on May 10, seizing a number of villages on Ukraine’s northeastern frontier, and forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
The footage shows a Russian soldier destroy a Ukrainian drone “with one blow of his head,” the channel said.
Absolutely unbelievable footage
Life can be crazier than fiction.
A #Russian soldier vs #Ukranian drone.
A drone noticed a 🇷🇺fighter and decided to taunt him approaching slowly face level. Soldier appears to headbutt the drone, 💥 follows. When smoke settles he just walks off pic.twitter.com/bX5jB13OrM— Arthur Morgan (@ArthurM40330824) August 15, 2024
“The drone was circling near our soldier and was already preparing to deliver the decisive blow. The soldier did not lose his head: he stood up to his full height, and then, like a football player, hit the drone with his head. It exploded,” SHOT said.
Evgeny Lisitsyn, a Russian military correspondent, shared the video on his Telegram channel, writing: “Incredible footage!”
“An enemy FPV drone flies up to our soldier and hovers at his height before attacking,” Lisitsyn said. “The drone attacks, but the Russian soldier headbutts it, and then an explosion occurs. After that, our soldier calmly goes about his business.”
Russian journalist Alexander Kots described the footage as “phenomenal.”
“There are still heroes in Russia!” he said. “The enemy’s FPV drone mockingly slowly flies up to our fighter and hovers at human height before attacking. Our fighter takes a stance as if it were a boxing ring. The drone attacks, and the soldier lunges forward and hits the drone with his head. Explosion. The smoke clears, and our hero calmly walks into the forest.”
He added: “How can you not believe that God is on our side!”
Newsweek couldn’t independently verify when or where the footage was filmed, and has contacted Russia’s Defense Ministry for comment by email.
Kharkiv’s regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said Monday that guided bomb attacks on border settlements have decreased in intensity recently.
“We have been recording a sharp decrease in guided bomb strikes in recent days,” he said during a national TV broadcast. “If our border area has seen from 30 to 60 guided bomb strikes per day, now no more than 10.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 8 that Russia’s offensive had failed.
“A very significant result is that the Russian army failed. The direction is strengthened. And it will be strengthened more,” Zelensky said, adding that he believes Russia would shift its focus to the eastern Donetsk region.
“The entire eastern front is challenging,” the Ukrainian leader added. “The main objective today, after their failure to capture Kharkiv, which we understand is no longer feasible, has shifted.”
Zelensky previously said that Russian losses during its Kharkiv offensive were eight times higher than Ukraine’s. Newsweek could not independently verify the claim.
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