“I don’t want to show off, but there was no feeling that we would be defeated”

Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yuri Trutnev claims that near Vugledar he fired a sniper rifle at an armored vehicle of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev claims that during a trip to the self-proclaimed DPR he took part in hostilities in the Ugledar region. He stated this in an interview with the Z-project WarGonzo on November 6; Russian media paid attention to his statement only now.

“Voenkor” Semyon Pegov asked the Deputy Prime Minister why one of the dilapidated houses near Ugledar is called “Trutnev’s house.” The presidential envoy responded that he “worked from this house with sniper weapons” when the building was fired upon by the Ukrainian military “more than once or twice.”

I don’t want to show off, it would be wrong and not fair, but there was no feeling that someone would defeat us. Well, the bempashka ( BMP - infantry fighting vehicle - note from Meduza) fired from the heart. The amount of ammunition they [the BMP crew] had was the same amount of ammunition it fired.

Then I contacted my friends in the command and said: “Guys, can you calm down the gunfire?” They tell me: “No, if there was a tank, we would strike, but you have to deal with the infantry fighting tank yourself.” Of course, we were surprised, but we figured it out. They just brought a drone on the next trip and calmed her down.

Trutnev noted that after the capture of Vugledar by Russian troops, he visited this area. According to him, looking at the house where he was hiding, he thought: “Lord, dear, you could be seen from all sides. Why were you sitting there, fool?

The Russian Deputy Prime Minister did not specify when exactly he fired a sniper rifle at an infantry fighting vehicle. Russian media have repeatedly reported on Trutnev's trips to the DPR after the outbreak of a full-scale war ( 1 , 2 , 3 ), including his visit to the vicinity of Ugledar in February 2023. Then he brought Lobaev’s sniper rifles to the soldiers of the 155th Marine Brigade (stationed in the Primorsky Territory).

Voenkor Semyon Pegov stated that Trutnev “worked with a sniper rifle near Ugledar, where the legendary 155th Marine Brigade fought,” but did not specify in what period this happened. It is known that the brigade has been near Ugledar since the summer of 2022; the Marines were withdrawn from this area before the offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region in August 2024.