SOFREP has sources in Ukraine sending us information on conditions on the ground in Kyiv and Kharkiv.  Some of it is graphic. The video below was taken outside the Kharkiv suburbs where a Russian reconnaissance unit was occupying a crossroads when it was attacked by Ukrainian forces, took casualties, and was forced to withdraw.

The video shows several interesting things that are worth mentioning.  The video opens with a view of a box of IRPRUS army field rations that contains a full week of rations and appears to be a newly opened box.  This unit may not have been in the field for very long.  The contents of their APC have been removed from the vehicle and tossed on the ground.  The fact that the BMP2 isn’t burning and still has stores of ammo, water, and food stacked on top suggests it was abandoned by its crew.  The BMPs had troop compartment rear doors that held extra fuel(Yeah, we know), during the Chechen war they were frequently hit from behind incinerating everyone inside and the Russians replaced the fuel doors with something that could give the crew more protection.  This BMP2 then is pretty old in terms of being in service.  The Russians have a new T-15 Armata IFVbut it has yet to make an appearance in Ukraine so far.

This vehicle is probably a Kamaz Typhoon K armor-protected vehicle.  It can be armed with medium-to-heavy machine guns, including a 7.62mm medium machine gun (MMG) or a 12.7mm / 14.5mm heavy machine gun (HMG). If you look closely, it appears a large caliber anti-tank round or rocket punched right through the front windshield.

Their unit was approximately platoon-sized with the Typhoon serving as the commander’s vehicle along with two APCs of the BMP2 type and two open trucks that probably hauled fuel, water and extra troops.

There is a Lada Nova belonging to a civilian who appears to have been killed when he stopped his vehicle a short distance from the Russian unit holding the crossroads.  He may have thought it was a Ukrainian unit until he drove up on it and they fired upon him.

The vehicle is riddled with bullet holes but the civilian was probably still alive when he stopped and exited the vehicle.  The driver’s door of the vehicle is shut, there is no blood on the ground near the car suggesting the civilian was wounded and got out.  It very much appears as if he was shot in the head outside the vehicle and lived for several minutes after being shot as his heart was still pumping his blood out of the wound.  There is a cover on his license plate that the driver may have used to prevent being identified.  It is possible he was acting as a scout and was caught.

The soldiers present in the background are Ukrainian military and their casual demeanor suggests this battle is over.  The trucks are Russian as well and bear the “Z” recognition marking the Russians are using to prevent being attacked by their own aircraft.

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