Ukrainian forces wiped put a Russian assault group trying to cross a river in Kursk in a brutal attack.
Vladimir Putin’s army has mustered around 50,000 troops in the Russian border region as his generals desperately try to drive out Ukrainian forces from the territory.
Around 12,000 North Korean soldiers are believed to have been deployed to Kursk to help boost Russian troop numbers.
Fierce fighting has raged in the region over the past week, claiming the lives of hundreds of Russian soldiers.
Putin’s army sustained heavy losses after attempting to storm the river Psel on Monday.
The attack ended in unmitigated disaster for the Russians, as the unit was wiped out during a ferocious artillery barrage.
Images shot by a Ukrainian drone show Russian soldiers crossing the river in rubber dinghies.
As they reach the shore, they have no time to dig in before drones and artillery open fire on them.
Gruesome images show the banks of the river littered with the dead bodies of the Russians following the aerial bombardment.
“FPV crews from the Rugby Team and artillery from the 129th Brigade effectively neutralised the enemy,” Ukraine’s military wrote in a post to its Telegram channel.
On the same day Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade repelled a powerful Russian offensive in the Kursk region.
Anastasia Blyshchyk, a press officer for the brigade, said: “Yesterday (Monday) was truly a black day for the Russian occupiers who tried to storm in five to six waves.
“The Russians tried to attack with vehicles, with paratroopers, and storm Ukrainian settlements.
“However, 10 units of armoured vehicles were destroyed by the warriors of the 47th Brigade.”
Three enemy BTRs were blown up by mines, while the rest of the equipment was destroyed using FPV drones and Stugna anti-tank systems.
“Other armorued vehicles were destroyed by our adjacent units… A group of invaders was also liquidated, and those who survived scattered through the fields,” she added.
Julian Röpke, a war analyst for the German tabloid Bild, estimated Putin’s army lost over 200 soldiers killed or wounded in just three days this week.
He also claimed Russian forces had lost 28 units of armoured vehicles, mostly modern BTR-82As, calling it a catastrophe for Putin’s generals.
