Chilling video shows the moment Russian soldiers on the move are hit by Ukrainian cluster munitions.
The controversial yet effective weapons are banned by many countries but the US, Russia and Ukraine all allow their use.
The unverified video, purportedly taken on the southern Zaporizhzhia front, shows Russian soldiers moving along a path when dozens of small puffs of smoke – bomblets released by the brutal weapon – erupt around them.
Later in the footage, the Russian troops can be seen running back the way they came with some attempting to hide in the treeline before Ukrainian artillery strikes again.
Two more strikes bombard that area with shrapnel and – although it’s unclear exactly how effective the strikes were – no Russian soldiers move out of the treeline.
The increased use of advanced cluster munitions to destroy Russian infantry and vehicles is one of the latest tactics in a summer counteroffensive by Ukraine which has seen fierce fighting explode in the south and east of the country.
DPICM munitions use both shaped charges to destroy enemy armour such as tanks as well as fragmentation charges which can be devastating to infantry, hence their “dual-purpose” name.
Providing Ukraine with the weapons has been seen as a controversial decision for the US as many countries have banned their use. Russia has used its own cluster munitions since the beginning of the war.
The striking video comes as Ukraine attempts to exploit a breakthrough on the Zaporizhzhia front after Kyiv’s forces captured the village of Robotyne and breached Russia’s first defensive line.
