Russia suffered a major setback after Ukrainian missiles reportedly destroyed a key army military command post in Kursk.
HIMARS missiles reportedly took out the headquarters of Russia’s elite 810th Marine Brigade, which was hidden in an abandoned five-storey civilian building in Lgov.
The devastating attack took place overnight on Christmas Day and caused heavy casualties, killing 17 marines.
Lieutenant Colonel Salim Pashtov, one of the brigade’s senior officers, was reportedly among those killed.
Video footage purportedly of the missile strike shows a huge mushroom cloud of flames and smoke rising into the night’s sky on the horizon.
Further images shot on the following morning show the extent of the devastating damage caused by the precision attack.
Cars can be seen still burning and rubble from nearby buildings is strewn all over the ground.
Ukraine’s military confirmed the attack, in a statement posted to its Telegram channel.
“This fire strike is part of a comprehensive campaign to weaken the ability of the Russian Armed Forces to coordinate military operations against the people of Ukraine,” they said.
Kursk’s acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein, claimed the missiles had hit civilian facilities and infrastructure.
He alleged the attack had killed four people and injured another five, who were taken to hospital.
The 810th Separate Marine Brigade is a unit of the Russian Naval Infantry and part of the Black Sea Fleet.
It is normally based in Kozacha Bay near Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea.
The elite unit has a long history of involvement in various military operations and consists of approximately 2,500 marines and is equipped with T-80 and T-55 tanks.
The 810th brigade is one of several units which has been accused of shooting Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The marines have been deployed to Kursk and have suffered “hellish losses” in “meat assaults”, according to one of the soldiers in the brigade.
