SEEK AND DESTROY
Call Of Duty-style footage shows moment Ukrainian laser-guided rocket blows up Russian reconnaissance vehicle
CALL of Duty-style footage shows the shocking moment a Ukrainian laser-guided rocket blasted a Russian reconnaissance vehicle.
Ukrainian forces said the BRDM-2 - a combat reconnaissance patrol vehicle - was destroyed in the Luhansk region, in eastern Ukraine.
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The footage from the 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces shows the Russian vehicle driving down a street, oblivious to the incoming attack.
The laser-guided rocket suddenly swoops in and follows the vehicle for a moment before it reaches the target and explodes in a huge ball of fire.
The BRDM-2 is an amphibious armoured reconnaissance vehicle first developed and produced by the Soviet Union and its allies.
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence shared the incredible footage and said: "Beautiful! Professionalism in action. We continue to work!"
Read more on the Ukraine war
As of June 1, Ukrainian forces claim Russia has lost 30,700 troops, 1,361 tanks, 3,343 armoured fighting vehicles, 659 artillery systems, and 207 multiple launch rocket systems.
Ukraine said it has also destroyed 94 anti-aircraft systems, 208 warplanes, 175 helicopters, 519 tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, 120 cruise missiles, 13 warships, 2,290 military vehicles and fuel tankers, and 49 units of special equipment.
It comes after the Russian Defence Ministry released images of what it called "intensive manoeuvring operations" involving its nuclear-capable Yars intercontinental ballistic missile systems.
Russia said the Yars mobile missile systems - which can carry nuclear warheads and boast a range of over 6,200 miles - were performing "intensive manoeuvring operations on combat patrol routes in the Ivanovo Region".
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The Ivanovo region lies east of the Russian capital Moscow.
The images show soldiers removing camouflage from what appears to be a mobile Yars missile system.
The vehicle can then be seen making its way along a dirt track while being escorted by troops.
The Russian Defence Ministry said about 1,000 military personnel are involved in the exercises along with more than 100 pieces of equipment.
The move comes after US President Joe Biden said the US will send Kyiv more advanced rocket systems to help strike enemy forces from a longer distance.
The rocket systems have double the range of the rocket systems currently being used by Russian troops - and are much more accurate.
Meanwhile, Russian forces stepped up their attack on the battered city of Severodonetsk by striking a chemical plant which sent a huge cloud of smoke into the air.
Footage taken by a Ukrainian defender shows a spewing cloud of nitric acid as Russian forces pushed to take the strategic city in a bid to turn the tide of the war.
'MADNESS'
The Ukrainian authorities have warned people to stay inside due to the risk posed by toxic fumes after the blast.
Nitric acid, which is yellow or red, is corrosive and can cause severe burns, ulcerations, and scarring when in contact with skin.
Its vapour can also cause pulmonary edema when inhaled - which can be fatal.
Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said the dangerous chemical release was caused when Vladimir Putin's forces carried out an airstrike on a chemicals plant.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted Moscow's airstrikes in the frontline city as “madness”.
In his video address, he condemned the airstrikes in the city - but added he was not surprised by Russia's attack.
"Given the presence of large-scale chemical production in Severodonetsk, the Russian army's strikes there, including blind air bombing, are just madness," he said.
"But on the 97th day of such a war, it is no longer surprising that for the Russian military, for Russian commanders, for Russian soldiers, any madness is absolutely acceptable."
Putin demanded the city was captured by yesterday.
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Both sides said Russian forces now controlled between a third and half of the city - but Ukrainian forces are still resisting.
Russia's separatist proxies acknowledged that capturing the city was taking longer than hoped, despite one of the biggest ground assaults of the war.
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