This is the dramatic moment a Russian artillery crew is destroyed by High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS rockets, on the Ukrainian battlefield.
The US-made advanced rocket systems give Ukraine the ability to strike Russian forces and weapons from further away, making it less risky for Ukrainian troops as they attempt to break through Russian defensive lines.
In an as-yet-unverified video, the rockets strike a Russian truck as soldiers attempt to flee the scene.
The crew and their vehicle are swiftly annihilated in a ball of flames and smoke.
The video then replays the blast from a zoomed-out angle, capturing the shock wave that’s generated by the impact.
Dead soldiers are seen strewn along the ground beside the burnt-out truck following the blast.
It comes as Ukraine steps up its attacks on Russian forces from the land, sea and air.
Kyiv has carried out a series of attacks on Russian infrastructure in the Black Sea as it focuses its efforts on military infrastructure and logistic routes in Crimea.
Russia is ramping up its attacks in response. Last week, a Russian rocket blast turned a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine into rubble Thursday, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in the war in months, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials in Kyiv.
Rescuers searched for survivors in the remains of the only cafe in the village of Hroza.
Body parts were strewn across a nearby children’s playground that was severely damaged by the strike.
Cellphones were collected and put in a courtyard nearby, waiting to be claimed. Occasionally, one of them rang, lighting up a shattered screen.
Around 60 people, including children, were attending a wake at the cafe when the missile hit, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine is now bracing for more attacks as the seasons change.
Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country.
Ukraine’s power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws near.
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