These videos show a convoy of tanks and other military vehicles advancing over snowy ground as Putin ramps up his invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

The videos were shared by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Russian Federation on 7th and 5th March respectively.

The Russian MoD captioned the first, more recent video: “The advancement of a tank unit in the Kiev region during a special military operation.”

And it captioned the second, earlier video: “The movement of columns of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the protection of the bridge in the Kiev region.”

“Special military operation” is the term used by Russian President Vladimir Putin to describe what has been widely dubbed an “invasion of Ukraine” outside Russia.

The stated aims of Mr Putin’s intervention in Ukraine are to “protect the Donbas” as well as to achieve the country’s “denazification and demilitarisation”.

He has also cited Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO as a justification for his military intervention, believing the country’s admission to the military alliance would represent a security threat to Russia.

Critics, however, say Mr Putin’s real aims are irredentist in nature, and point to the fact that he has questioned Ukraine’s right to statehood.

According to the UN’s conservative estimates, 331 civilians have died and 675 have been wounded since the invasion began on 24th February.

The first major territorial change of the conflict has been the capture of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson by Russian forces.