Ukraine is reported to have wiped out the entire command of Russia’s 35th Brigade in a deadly missile strike.
The attack was carried out using HIMARS missiles on the brigade’s headquarters in the eastern town of Selydove.
The town was captured by the Russians in October last year and lies just 11 miles northwest of the strategically important city of Pokrovsk.
The attack was filmed by Ukrainian drones hovering close to the building, housing the headquarters.
In a video posted to social media, a huge ball of flames rises from a building after the impact of the missiles.
Thick black smoke then billows skywards from the stricken building, where the brigade’s command was reportedly billeted.
Later Russian military bloggers claimed that brigade’s command had been killed in the attack.
One wrote: “Our brigade is in mourning. Our commanders have passed away. The commanders of our 35th brigade. All at once. The entire headquarters.”
Details of the attack and its consequences have yet to be confirmed by both the Russians or the Ukrainians.
Selydove was home to around 21,000 people before the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Heavy aerial bombardment and artillery barrages have left the town practically in complete ruins.
The city lies on the approach to Pokrovsk, a key target for Putin’s generals as they attempt to take full control of the Donetsk region.
Pokrovsk is a crucial logistics hub for Ukraine’s army in the east and its capture would be a massive blow for Kyiv.
The Pokrovsk front has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the war, as the Russians seek to make a decisive breakthrough.
Ukraine has desperately sought to stall the Russian advance, and has claimed to have “neutralised” some 15,000 of Putin’s troops in January alone.
The analytical site DeepState says the intensity of Russian assaults in the Pokrovsk direction has seen decline in recent weeks.
The intensity of attacks has decreased to an average of 95 per day in February, compared to 292 daily attacks during the peak period in December.
