Russian Soldiers Pinned Down by Enemy Tank in Grueling POV Video

A video circulating on social media appears to show Russian soldiers hiding in basements to escape the onslaught of a Ukrainian tank.

The seven-minute long clip, which has been shared on Reddit, shows a group of soldiers being pounded by constant shelling in an undisclosed location.

It isn't clear when or where the footage was filmed. Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry via email for comment.

The footage, which appears to be filmed by one of the Russian soldiers, begins by showing three of his fellow troops sitting in a basement, holding rifles on their laps. An explosion can be heard, and the men discuss what it could be.

"That's not an anti-tank gun," one soldier says. "It's too loud."

Another suggests that it could be a tank.

One soldier gets to the ground after hearing another explosion, and they decide unanimously to move to a different location because "he knows where we are."

They leave the basement and are filmed moving to another location. One soldier tells the group to wait at the new location until the soldier operating the attacking Ukrainian tank "gets bored."

Another explosion can be heard, and rubble falls onto one of the soldiers.

"That was a good shot!" one soldier says. Another adds: "That's not an anti-tank gun. Not even close!"

One soldier asks his comrades to look at the walls of the building where they relocated.

"See that, it went right through! That, my friends, is, I don't know, a tank? It left a crater 15 meters away from us, and it's quite big!"

The soldiers huddle together after hearing another explosion. "Well, they hit us good," one soldier says.

After an estimated 10 shots fired by the Ukrainian tank, one says: "That should be his limit, I'm telling you, he's at his limit."

"He'll have to call it a day, or risk getting shot," the soldier says.

After another explosion, even louder explosion, they decide to leave the building.

The troops get up and leave, but quickly retreat back to the same building after realizing that the basement where they intended to relocate was hit by the enemy tank.

"That guy won't let up!"

One soldier leaves the building to examine the situation outside, but quickly returns.

"He isn't going to stop! He might keep us pinned here until nightfall," one says.

A loud explosion can be heard, which causes more rubble to fall.

"This place won't hold," one says, and they collectively agree to relocate once more.

The group runs into another basement, and the men begin discussing a plan of action to flee the area.

"How many shots has he fired?" one asks.

"15 already! At least...," another responds.

"He's spotted us and knows where we are so he's shooting at us. He knows we've got nowhere to go. So he keeps pounding. He won't get us in this basement," one soldier says.

They discuss how the plaster of the walls in the basement they relocated to "doesn't crumble" with the impact of explosions.

The video ends with one soldier lighting a cigarette.

The clip's circulation comes months into Ukraine's counteroffensive, which started in early June, and aims to recapture Russian-occupied territory.

Heavy clashes have been reported as Moscow attempts to seize the town of Avdiivka in Ukraine's Donetsk region. It has been the target of Russian aggression since 2014, when Putin illegally annexed the southern Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.

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