Russian APVs Wiped Out in Dramatic Avdiivka Video: 'Cooler Than Hollywood'

Ukraine has released video it says shows Kyiv forces destroying a convoy of Russian tanks involved in Moscow's offensive in the eastern Donetsk oblast.

The clip was posted on the X (formerly Twitter) account of Ukrainian internal affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko, who said that the "warriors" of Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade had taken part in the "defeat" of a Russian vehicle attack.

At the start of October, Russia launched an offensive towards Avdiivka where Ukraine's General Staff said it expects a "third wave" attack from Moscow, whose forces have reportedly suffered high losses of troops and equipment.

Gerashchenko wrote next to the clip that the area near the town was the scene of the dramatic fight in which Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs) "tried to break through our positions but part of their equipment was blown up on the mines and then finished by artillery fire."

The captions at the start of the aerial footage describe "an early morning attack by the enemy's convoy " involving 14 vehicles, with one tank attacking from the flank temporarily surviving a direct hit. An explosion followed by smoke is seen.

The footage then shows the vehicles being fired upon, creating a "traffic jam" in the middle of the convoy, which an APC tries to go around. Two APCs are targeted by Ukrainian troops and Russian personnel are seen running away, according to the captions.

The Russian vehicles then continue their push ahead but face mine explosions and then try to beat a retreat. Amid images of destroyed vehicles, there is a huge explosion with flames and smoke bursting out, which Gerashchenko said was caused by "several cluster shells accurately covering" the APCs.

"A great success of the 47th Brigade and a special thanks for the high quality of the video to the aerial reconnaissance brigade," his post said, "their special effects are cooler than in Hollywood, don't you think?"

The video lasting more than three minutes, which as of Wednesday afternoon had received more than 250,000 views, has not been independently verified and Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.

It is not clear when the incident took place and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces did not conduct any claimed or confirmed offensive operations near Avdiivka on Tuesday.

Citing Russian military bloggers, the think tank said that Russian forces had "marginally advanced" around to the west and northwest of the town.

The U.S. think tank also said that further south, Ukraine's armored vehicles had reached the Russian-controlled east bank of the Dnieper river and that its expanding bridgehead on the Russian-controlled bank is likely being reinforced by armored infantry vehicles.