A disagreement between Russian units in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region descended into a full-blown conflict in which at least 20 of Putin‘s troops died after shooting at each other with automatic weapons, it has been claimed.

Ukraine’s National Resistance Centre – an organisation that helps to coordinate the operations of pro-Ukrainian movements in occupied territory – reported that Russian fighters from Dagestan clashed with a unit of Chechen troops operating under orders from the head of the Republic of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, a close Putin ally. 

A disagreement between the groups, who encountered each other in the Ukrainian town of Mykhailivka near Melitopol, led to some of the troops getting embroiled in a fist-fight. But the scrap quickly spiralled out of control.

One fighter was stabbed, at which point the violence immediately escalated and the troops drew their guns, blasting each other with automatic weapons and even grenades, according to NRC sources.

The conflict was sparked when troops from Dagestan – a poor, mountainous region of southern Russia disproportionately affected by the Russian army’s conscription drive late last year – took umbrage with the arrival of the ‘Kadyrovites’, who are particularly vocal on social media and were allegedly in town to film propaganda clips. 

Around 8pm local time, a fight broke out between the two groups. 

The NRC said: ‘During the quarrel, one of the occupants opened fire in the air from a small automatic weapon.

‘In the course of the fight, one of the occupiers was inflicted with numerous stab wounds which were fatal. 

‘This led to an open confrontation between units using under-barrel grenade launchers GP-25 Koster hand grenades and small automatic weapons.’

Some 20 Russian troops slaughtered each other in the impromptu war, with the Chechen crew ultimately being overpowered by the Dagestanis, according to the NRC.

More than 40 were allegedly wounded. 

The reports of Chechen units active in the Zaporizhzhia region corroborate the account of Britain’s Ministry of Defence whose intelligence update this week recognised Kadyrov’s praise of his troops’ work there.

‘In an online post on August 10, 2023, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov acknowledged the efforts of the Chechen Vostok Akhmat Battalion in the heavily contested Orikhiv sector in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. 

‘Kadyrov’s comments highlighted the continuing role of one of the premier Chechen units in this key area. Vostok officially comes under the command of the Southern Military District’s 42nd Motor Rifle Division which has been active around the village of Robotyne.

‘Chechen forces comprise a relatively small but high-profile component of Russian forces in Ukraine. Kadyrov likely heavily promotes his units’ roles partially to burnish his credentials as a Putin loyalist.’

The town of Orikhiv, where Kadyrov claims his troops were instrumental in fighting Ukrainian counterattacks, sits a mere 25 miles from Mykhailivka. 

The report of Russian troops turning on one another comes as pictures from the frontlines showed Ukrainian artillerymen raining fire down on Vladimir Putin‘s invaders amid Kyiv’s counter-offensive. 

The Ukrainian military said it had pushed Russian forces out of pockets of territory along the front lines in the east and south of the country, building on the gruelling counter-offensive launched two months ago.

The gains – announced by Ukraine’s deputy defence minister – came as Russia claimed its forces had progressed in the eastern Kharkiv region, undermining Kyiv’s highly anticipated campaign.

Ukraine kicked off its counter-offensive against Russian forces in June after building up assault battalions and stockpiling Western-donated weapons.

But progress has been hampered by widespread Russian-laid minefields and strong fortifications, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said.

Nevertheless, the Ukrainian military had pushed forward around the village of Staromaiorske, around 60 miles southwest of Russian-held Donetsk, and was pressing on two fronts in the south, Maliar said. She said troops were fighting for control of the neighbouring settlement of Urozhaine.

A Moscow-installed official in an occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region said on Sunday that Kyiv was attempting to pierce Russian lines by gaining a foothold in both villages which stand in the path of Ukraine’s goal of reaching the Sea of Azov.

‘Hostilities are taking place in the vicinity of Urozhaine and the fight is for this particular locality,’ Maliar said in a statement to an official military platform. ‘There is some success on the southern and southeast axes in the vicinity of Staromaiorske.’

Maliar also said Kyiv’s army had conducted ‘certain tasks’ on the left bank (or eastern bank) of the Dnipro river in the Kherson region.

The river was rendered the de facto front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the region after Kyiv recaptured the territory’s main city, also called Kherson, in November.

In a recent intelligence update, the British defence ministry noted ‘an uptick in small-scale combat’ along the lower Dnipro river, where it said Ukrainian forces were attempting to conduct raids and set up new bridgeheads.

Stunning never-before-seen footage of U.S. soldiers liberating a train of 2,500 Jewish prisoners headed for a Nazi death camp in the dying days of World War II has been unearthed by an American high school history teacher.

Dubbed the ‘Miracle at Farsleben’, the rescue operation occurred on April 13, 1945, when a train carrying Jewish prisoners from Bergen-Belsen to Theresienstadt concentration camps was forced to stop near the village of Farsleben to avoid being caught in the crossfire of an artillery battle between U.S. and German forces. 

The SS officers in charge, facing the prospect of not completing their grim task, had been instructed to execute as many of their captives as possible. 

But the Nazi officers abandoned their posts and fled when an American jeep and tank arrived on the scene, undoubtedly saving all 2,500 prisoners from the bleak fate that befell some 6 million of their kin. 

The newly discovered three-minute clip portrays the aftermath of the liberation, showing the gaunt and battered survivors, many of whom were dressed in torn clothes and suffering from lice infestations, experiencing varying degrees of relief, euphoria and complete exhaustion as they realize they are being rescued. 

The footage was filmed by one of the soldiers from the American Ninth Army, who happened to have a camera on hand.

The newly revealed footage has brought to life the harrowing accounts of the soldiers who rescued the prisoners, and four survivors from the train have since identified themselves.

Holocaust survivor Jacob Barzilai, 90, told Israeli media that he spotted his 12-year-old self and his mother and sister in the footage.

He told Channel 12 that in the past he has seen ‘innumerable’ photos of the train’s liberation, but had never been able to locate himself or any of his family in the images.

‘It was inconceivable, incomprehensible, and I couldn’t breathe, that I found what I had looked for over years,’ he said.

George Gross, a tank commander present at the liberation, recalled: ‘Everyone looked like a skeleton, so starved, their faces sick. And there was something else. When they saw us, they began to laugh with joy, if you can call it laughter. It was more like an outburst of pure, almost hysterical relief.’

The significant find is credited to Matthew Rozell, a dedicated history teacher from New York, who has been researching the Holocaust for over three decades. 

His mission to engage his students led him to interview local veterans of World War II, one of whom shared the incredible story of finding the death train at Farsleben.

The story piqued his interest and sent him down a path of years of research, during which Rozell painstakingly unearthed more and more information about the Miracle at Farsleben.  

His efforts culminated in a book, ‘A Train Near Magdeburg: A Teacher’s Journey into the Holocaust’, published in 2016, and a documentary series with ITV.

The latest footage was found by a team at the US National Archives after Rozell received a tip-off from a museum associate who had seen a brief clip on a German documentary. 

Rozell expressed the importance of this discovery, describing the footage as another piece of evidence to undermine the narrative of Holocaust deniers.

‘I don’t want to say I am gratified or vindicated, because even without this footage, this is an incredible story. But to actually see it is another nail in the coffin of Holocaust denial, we hope,’ the teacher said. 

The footage’s authenticity has been verified by renowned historians of the Second World War, who emphasized the emotional impact of the scenes captured on film. 

Guy Walters, one such historian, described it as ‘astonishing’ and highlighted how the expressions of the survivors tell a profound story of both pain and relief.

The survivors themselves, not clad in prison uniforms, were from a section of Belsen reserved for individuals who the Nazis believed could have been used as leverage in negotiations with foreign governments. 

But although they were treated relatively better than those herded directly into death camps, these prisoners still endured considerable suffering, experiencing malnutrition and diseases like typhus as they were starved and crammed into cramped, filthy living quarters.

Russia offers troops £930 cash bonuses for any US or UK tanks they destroy

• Russian troops will receive payment for destroying vehicles supplied by NATO
• It is part of a wider reward scheme, according to the Russian defence ministry 

By Alexander Butler

Published: 04:41 EDT, 16 June 2023 | Updated: 07:31 EDT, 16 June 2023