Troops Use Captured And Refitted Mortar Back On Enemy

This footage shows Ukrainian troops using a Russian self-propelled mortar they captured earlier this year and refitted over months on enemy soldiers.

The 93rd Separate Mechanised Brigade said in a statement obtained by Newsflash on 19th December: "Soldiers of the 93rd 'Kholodnyi Yar' Brigade talk about their impressions of using the trophy 2C23 Nona-SVK.

"This self-propelled artillery installation, the main weapon of which is a 120-millimetre mortar gun, was taken by one of the mechanised battalions in the liberated village of Husarivka near Balakleya in Kharkiv Oblast. Now Russian equipment is working in the interests of the Cold War. The video shows how it hits the enemy in the direction of Bakhmut.

"Due to the rifled barrel, it hits more accurately than a tank. But the old Soviet system is made inconveniently, there is a lot of excess, the connection is from the last millennium."

The 2S9 Nona was designed in the Soviet Union from 1974 to 1980 and has been in service since 1981.

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a "special military operation". Today marks the 299th day of the invasion.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 19th December, Russia had lost about 98,800 personnel, 2,988 tanks, 5,969 armoured combat vehicles, 1,953 artillery units, 410 multiple launch rocket systems, 212 air defence systems, 281 warplanes, 264 helicopters, 1,657 drones, 653 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 4,592 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 175 units of special equipment.

Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.

Kyiv's critical infrastructure was targeted by a wave of Russian military drone attacks early on 19th December.

Some 20 Iran-made drones were deployed to and around Ukraine's capital, with air defence systems destroying about three-quarters of them.

Officials in Kyiv have confirmed that a critical infrastructure point was hit, without giving further details.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine worth GBP 250 million.

It will include "hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition" for use against invading Russian forces.

And officials in Ukraine have dismissed calls for a negotiated peace from former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as "appeasing the aggressor".