Exclusive footage acquired by DailyMail.com shows the moment a salvo of missiles murdered a Ukrainian grain billionaire and wounded a squad of British volunteer fighters next door.
On July 31, a Russian S-300 missile struck the bedroom of Oleksiy Vadatursky and his wife in their riverfront house in the town of Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, killing them and leaving a gaping hole.
The Dark Angels, an elite group of foreign volunteer fighters charged with guerrilla raids behind Russian lines, were camped out next door in an abandoned sanitarium.
They were injured by the artillery bombardment and managed to capture one explosion on video.
The video, which DailyMail was able to secure, shows the flash of a bomb going off outside the window, the wrecked rooms of the structure, and two bleeding buddies receiving first aid following the explosion.
Former British banker and military doctor Macer Gifford, who has been embedded with the team, spoke exclusively to DailyMail about the Russian strike and the crucial operations the force has been engaged in.
The boys were sleeping around 3 a.m. Then, with a boom, they were struck by artillery rounds that landed around five metres (16 feet) in front of the structure, instantly blowing all the windows and doors out of their frames.
They clearly sprang to their feet as additional extremely heavy shells impacted the building, the gardens, and the building next door as they awoke to dust and glass spinning around them.
One of the men was hit in the shoulder by shrapnel from one of those bullets, while the unit’s commander was wounded in the foot by another man’s shrapnel.
Daniel Burke, a former British paratrooper who served in Afghanistan and was a member of the global volunteer group that battled the Islamic State in Syria, is the leader of the Dark Angels.
The 35-year-old Gifford, whose real name is Harry Rowe, volunteered with Burke in Syria and has since joined him there to teach Ukrainian troops in paramedic techniques.
Over 40 artillery rounds and missiles were used in the barrage, according to the French daily Le Monde.
According to Gifford, the fighters took cover behind the concrete stairway and awaited a lull in the firing before boarding a 4×4 and fleeing.
The sanatorium, which served as our home for over two months, was entirely destroyed, according to Gifford.
Fortunately, just two of our soldiers had minor injuries, and we anticipate that they will completely recover.
The ex-banker was in the UK at the time since he had travelled back to his hometown for his brother’s wedding.
In the next days, he is scheduled to return to the front lines with equipment including night vision goggles and encrypted radios.
According to Gifford, Vadatursky, a fervent supporter of the Ukrainian military and a pro-European, was the subject of a “targeted assassination” in the attack.
“The Russians chose the opportunity to target the larger region,” he said, “knowing that in other spots along the river, there are concentrations of Ukrainian military, as well as humanitarian sites that are utilised to bring in supplies for the populace.”
Gifford said, “Alexi’s home was practically directly next door to us.”
There is a little private beach if you go around to the back of the sanatorium. I would often to the beach to unwind.
We’ve been teaching individuals all around Ukraine. The front lines are where we’ve worked.
And for a very long time now, we have really pushed ourselves in both the physical and cerebral senses.
Watching the sun set close to the river is among the most tranquil activities you can engage in.
“I would often see an elderly couple walking along a private pier barely 100 metres farther down the river during these peaceful periods. It was [Vadatursky] and his wife, as it turned out.
They would travel there practically every evening to watch the sun set, which gives what happened to him an additional heartbreaking layer.
One of the richest persons in the nation was Vadatursky. The biggest grain logistics firm in Ukraine, Nibulon, was established by him.
He provided funding for a 2,000-person private militia after Russia took Crimea in 2014 in an effort to fend them off.
Vadatursky assisted in reaching a deal with Russia only hours before the strike that enabled for the resumed shipping of grain from Ukraine to the rest of the globe through the previously-blocked Black Sea.
According to Gifford, the Ukrainian military will soon launch a “major drive” to retake territory in the country’s south and east that has been seized by the invading Russian army.
He said: “It almost seems like they’re forming a clattering fist to go slamming through the Russian lines.” I saw tens of thousands of men and women in uniform undergoing training and receiving Western weapons, to say the least.
His Dark Angels battalion has been among the most successful, striking deep into Russian-held territory and spreading panic and chaos.
Their primary objective is to slip behind Russian defences to locate weak spots in the line and then attack those areas with anti-tank rockets.
It was essentially a “shot and run” strategy, he claimed.
They don’t loiter about and they don’t battle the enemy with long guns. Simply bother them before leaving.
According to Gifford, contracts have even been extended to the Dark Angels so they may formally enlist in the Ukrainian military.
He continued, saying he is “nervous but determined” to into the conflict.
He said, “I’ve never been more certain about the morality of what we’re doing.” Ultimately, Ukraine is an independent state on the periphery of Europe.
It supports the British government. It’s a nation that longs for democracy and peace.