A Ukrainian rocket attack left a trail of dead Russian soldiers and burned military vehicles in “one of the bloodiest attacks of the war”.
Nighttime footage emerged on Friday morning showing what appeared to be a line of burning military trucks on a road in Kursk region of Russia.
A separate video, shared on Russian social media, appeared to have been taken by someone passing by after the apparent attack.
The bodies of dead Russian soldiers could be seen in the backs of some of the 14 trucks that were in the convoy. Other vehicles appeared completely burned after the attack, which Russian military bloggers said was carried out with US-donated Himars rocket launchers.
The convoy appeared to be carrying reinforcements to face Kiev’s surprise attack on the Kursk region.
The Telegraph geo-located the two video clips on the E38 highway in the Russian town of Oktyabr’skoe, more than 20 miles from the Ukrainian border.
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The convoy was likely traveling to reinforce the Russian presence in the settlement of Korenevo, about 20 kilometers away, the closest point that Russian sources reported fighting.
“Many dead, some of the vehicles completely burned. It appears that the entire column was carrying infantry,” a Russian Telegram channel wrote about the attack.
“They were armed, probably a platoon per vehicle. 3-4 companies – an entire battalion was destroyed.
“Judging by the appearance of the column, about half were killed. This is one of the bloodiest and most massive attacks (probably Himars) in the entire war.”
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Ukrainian news agency Unian reported that Moscow could have lost “200 to 490 people, in what could become one of the largest single losses since the beginning of the large-scale war”.
Russia’s FSB security service has reportedly arrested a 48-year-old man from Oktyabr’skoe for sharing images of the aftermath of the attack, according to the Russian Two Majors Telegram channel.
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Ukraine launched its surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region on Tuesday morning, as the battle entered its fourth day.
Since then, Kiev has brought in up to 2,000 troops, accompanied by US-made tanks and armored vehicles, in a bid to consolidate its gains in the Russian border region.
The city of Sudzha, home to one of the last transit stations pumping Russian gas to Europe, has been under Ukrainian control for days.
The Moscow Emergencies Ministry on Friday declared a federal state of emergency in the Kursk region.
Several videos shared on social media on Friday morning appeared to show Russian reinforcements being transported in armored vehicles arriving in the Kursk region.
