This is the moment Russian troops destroy two battalions of Ukrainian armoured vehicles preparing to launch an attack.

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the attack took place near the village of Vishnevoe in the south-eastern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

The Russian military said: “On May 14, 2022, Russian servicemen in the Zaporizhzhia region stopped an attempted counterattack by Ukrainian armed formations.”

The MoD said Russian troops destroyed two mechanised battalions of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles with artillery fire and drones as well as incoming fire from tanks and armoured vehicles.

As a result of the attack, the Russian MoD claimed they destroyed 26 Ukrainian tanks, 12 infantry fighting vehicles, and killed around 100 soldiers.

The Russian military also said that the attack was launched thanks to the work of reconnaissance troops using drones.

Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 84th day of the campaign.

From 24th February to 18th May, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at around 28,300 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Between 24th February and 18th May, 2022, the enemy’s total combat losses included also 1,235 tanks (+16 over the past day), 3,009 armoured fighting vehicles (+34), 586 artillery systems (+8), 199 multiple launch rocket systems (+1), 91 anti-aircraft warfare systems (+1), 202 aircrafts (+1), 167 helicopters (+0), 2,137 motor vehicles and fuel tanks (+28), 13 boats/cutters (+0), 441 unmanned aerial vehicles (+5), 43 special equipment units (+0). A total of 102 enemy cruise missiles (+5) were shot down.

In related news, the Russian MoD says 959 Ukrainian fighters from the Azovstal metallurgical plant have been taken to Russian-controlled territory since Monday.

Kyiv is calling for a prisoner swap for the evacuated soldiers. Moscow says they will be treated according to international norms.

The evacuation appears to mark the fall of the strategic port city of Mariupol, completing Russia’s land bridge to Crimea and giving it control of the Sea of Azov.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested that he may block Finland’s and Sweden’s applications to join NATO after he accused the Nordic nations of harbouring Kurdish militants who he regards as “terrorists”.