Entire Russian Infantry Column Wiped Out in Drone Attack: Video

Ukrainian forces have taken out a Russian infantry column close to the captured eastern city of Avdiivka, according to new footage, as Moscow bears down on Ukrainian positions west of the key settlement.

Ukrainian airborne drones detected Russian infantry moving through wooded lanes under the cover of darkness, Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement on Monday.

The brigade's self-propelled artillery division then fired on the Russian positions, leaving behind "scorched earth" close to Avdiivka, the brigade said. The Ukrainian military then shared a night-vision video appearing to show the artillery strike.

Newsweek could not independently verify the footage and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Russian forces have pressed westward since Moscow captured Avdiivka, a city that had weathered a decade on the frontlines in eastern Ukraine and was considered a Ukrainian stronghold. It was the first major win for the Kremlin since it claimed the destroyed Donetsk city of Bakhmut, northeast of Avdiivka.

In the weeks since Ukrainian forces retreated from Avdiivka, Ukraine's military has said it has withdrawn from a handful of villages west of the city, including Stepove, Lastochkyne and Sieverne. Seizing these settlements helps consolidate Russian positions around Avdiivka, the U.K. government assessed last week.

"Russia is also likely seeking to build momentum on the axis to take advantage of the fact that there are fewer fixed, well defended positions, and urban areas from which Ukrainian forces can defend," the British Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update posted to social media on Thursday.

Kyiv quickly moved to take defensive positions west of Avdiivka, but satellite imagery published by The New York Times over the weekend suggested Ukraine had failed to build up high-quality, robust defenses in Russia's path.

By the end of February, Russian forces had advanced around six kilometers from the center of Avdiivka, according to the U.K. government.

Ukraine's military said early on Monday that it had "repelled" 20 Russian attacks along the section of the front line around Avdiivka, including in Berdychi, west of the village of Stepove.

"The operational situation is stabilizing" west of Avdiivka, Dmytro Lykoviy, spokesperson for Ukraine's Tavria forces covering the frontline around Avdiivka, told Ukrainian television on Sunday.

In a separate statement on Monday, Moscow said it had attacked Ukrainian positions around Berdychi and several other settlements, taking out two Ukrainian-operated tanks, including a U.S.-made M1 Abrams, as well as three U.S.-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.