Drone footage reportedly recorded on Mar. 14, 2023 shows a contingent of Russian Wagner mercenaries (red) attempting to retake a portion of trench lost in the vicinity of Bakhmut. As they near an intersection in the trenchline, they are engaged at extremely close range by Ukrainian soldiers (green). One of the Russian soldiers drops, likely with fatal injuries, while a second Russian retreats to what he thinks is relative safety. Unfortunately for him, his nervous buddy approaches from the rear and lights him up with a burst of rifle fire having not correctly identified his target.

The exchange of close quarters fighting continues for a few minutes and eventually the Wagner mercenaries retreat after three of their troops are killed. It appears that at least one Ukrainian soldier was also seriously wounded or killed in the engagement.

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Will Killmore

Will Killmore is a US Army combat infantry veteran and Purple Heart recipient. He has deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with the 172nd Stryker Brigade and 173rd Airborne Brigade. Following his time in service, he successfully pursued a certificate of journalism and has been a blogger for Funker530 since 2014. Follow Will’s bad takes on Twitter