Kremlin forces were humiliated after the famed Stalingrad tank division was reduced to smoking wreckage

During the victory, Ukrainian forces destroyed the infamous Stalingrad tank division’s famed tanks. After defeating Nazi Germany’s advances to claim Soviet territory in what is known as the deadliest battle of WWII, the Russian 4th Guards tank division was lorded.

The Battle of Stalingrad in 1942 and 1943 resulted in up to two million casualties and was regarded as a watershed moment in the war.

The legendary division has now been defeated by Ukrainian forces in Trostyanets, a town 15 miles from the Russian border and 220 miles from Kyiv.

The Kremlin occupied the area for 25 days, and images of burnt-out howitzers and tanks from the Stalingrad division alongside Ukrainian flags flying again in town can only send a message of failure back to the Kremlin.

The town was claimed at the start of the Ukrainian conflict after a week of fighting, which resulted in footage of tanks and artillery being stationed in the town square.

The same equipment that has now been destroyed in the same square by Ukrainian troops and insurgent forces that have killed or captured Russian troops as they have failed to hold onto their new territory.

According to land warfare expert Jack Watling, the retaking of the town “demonstrates that the Ukrainians are capable of counter-attacking,” and thus “Russia can’t assume that once they hold ground, they have secured it.”

The video, which was shared on social media on Sunday, shows Ukrainian troops reclaiming their town on foot while being protected by an armoured fighting vehicle and opening fire on Russian forces.

Following an explosion caused by a Ukrainian tank, the Facebook page of the 93rd Mechanised Brigade, Kholodhny Yar, declared: “Trostyanets is free from Russian occupation.”

“Today, the 93rd Mechanized Brigade Kholodnyi Yar, with the assistance of territorial defence forces and local partisans, liberated the city of Trostyanets in the Sumy region from Russian occupation forces,” it continued.

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One village in the #Sumy region was liberated from the Russians, and dozens of Russian soldiers were captured pic.twitter.com/ulqG8W8wBG

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“Kholodnyi Yar fighters have successfully expelled the ‘elite’ Russian ground forces, the Kantemyr tank division [4th Guards].”

“This was preceded by the defeat of the command post and the leadership of the 96th Separate Reconnaissance Brigade in the early days of Okhtyrka’s defence and the battles for Trostyanets.”

“After a series of setbacks, the Russian army has fled Trostyanets, leaving behind weapons, equipment, and ammunition that the 93rd Brigade will use to liberate other Ukrainian cities from occupation,” the statement continued.

The page then featured photos of Ukrainian leaders meeting with residents and others posing with destroyed Russian equipment from the legendary Stalingrad tank division.

Sumy has been under attack for nearly a month, and Trostyanets is located on a main road 30 miles south of the city, so recapturing this Ukrainian territory was critical for blocking Russian manoeuvres and providing hope for a supply route of aid to the city.

“Trostyanets is a town on a significant north-south route between Sumy and Okhtyrka,” said former British Military Intelligence Colonel Philip Ingram.

“If Ukraine has control of that road, you severely limit Russia’s manoeuvrability.”

“Any roads that Ukraine reclaims have an impact on Russia’s ability to move around.”

“The Russians are constrained to the roads, and control of the junctions allows you to fire straight down them.”