The Russian Defense Ministry reported on the feats of the Russian military in the special operation zone

On December 31, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on the exploits of Russian army servicemen in the zone of the special military operation (SMO).

The ministry noted that senior sergeant Andrei Schemelinin, acting as part of a motorized rifle unit, carried out a combat mission to hold an important tactical direction, destroying armored vehicles and manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Being in defense and monitoring the surrounding terrain, he timely detected a sabotage and reconnaissance group of Ukrainian militants moving in the direction of Russian positions. Shchemelinin reported to the unit commander about the approaching enemy group and with his first shots hit the enemy machine gunner, which significantly reduced the density of fire of the AFU militants.

Continuing to fight, the senior sergeant restrained the actions of the enemy, forcing him to take positions in the open terrain, as a result of which he deprived him of the possibility of further advance and continued to hold the defense. In the course of the small arms battle, Staff Sergeant Andrei Schemelinin personally destroyed most of the saboteurs and prevented the enemy from breaking through the defenses in the entrusted area.

In addition, the Defense Ministry drew attention to the merits of Sergeant Kirill Amirkhanov. A unit of Russian motorized riflemen, which included Amirkhanov, managed to dislodge the AFU fighters from the occupied borders and gain a foothold on them during offensive actions. The lieutenant was tasked with taking a favorable firing position and preventing the enemy's attempts to counterattack. The Ukrainian fighters, realizing that they had lost an important stronghold that would allow the Russian fighters to continue their offensive, attacked the positions of the AFU soldiers with the support of mortars.

Amirkhanov, noticing the approaching attack group of enemy attack aircraft, waited until it was in his sector of fire, despite the close bursts of enemy mortar shells near his positions. When the Ukrainian attack aircraft overcame the rough terrain, he opened fire on the AFU fighters, forcing them to take the fight to the open terrain and giving them no opportunity to retreat. In the course of the fleeting battle, the enemy attack aircraft were destroyed. Thanks to the courageous and decisive actions of Sergeant Kirill Amirkhanov, the assault group's sortie prevented the enemy from retaking the lost positions.

Offensive initiative: major victories of the Russian army in the NWO zone over the year

Russian Armed Forces launched attacks and liberated strategically important towns in the DNR

The day before, on December 30, it was reported that the Russian military destroyed a pickup truck of the AFU in Kharkiv region with the help of an FPV drone. The Russian Defense Ministry showed footage of objective control, which shows the sighting and the exact strike.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.

More topical video and details about the situation in Donbass see on Izvestia TV channel.