This is the moment Russian soldiers launch an Iskander missile into the sky and reportedly destroy a Ukrainian military base.

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the attack took place on 18th April after troops reportedly obtained the Ukrainian base’s coordinates from a captured soldier.

The Russian military said troops used the 9K720 Iskander mobile ballistic missile system to bomb the Ukrainian base.

Russian media claimed the base’s position was obtained by interrogating a captured Ukrainian soldier. After checking the information, troops fired the Iskander missile and destroyed the command post, allegedly killing around 100 soldiers.

The Russian commander in charge of the launch is quoted as saying: “The high-performance characteristics of the (Iskander) system made it possible to ideally complete the task.

“To date, we have already completed over 10 combat launches and gained vast experience that allows us to perform the assigned tasks with high quality again in the future.”

The day before the strike, the Russian MoD reported that soldiers had shelled Ukrainian strongholds in the areas of Barvenkovo and Dobropolye, hitting 113 targets and destroying storage facilities for fuel and ammunition meant for the defending forces.

Meanwhile, the major general of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation said invading units had destroyed an ammunition factory near the city of Brovary in Kyiv Oblast with a precision strike.

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin called a “special military operation”.

Today marks the 54th day of the invasion. From 24th February to 18th April, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at 20,600 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military also claims that Russia has lost 790 battle tanks, 2,041 combat armoured vehicles, 381 artillery systems, 130 MLR systems, 67 anti-aircraft systems, 167 warplanes, 147 helicopters, 1,487 vehicles, 8 vessels, 76 fuel tank trucks, 155 operational-tactical level UAVs, 27 units of special equipment, and four mobile SRBM systems.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited French President Emmanuel Macron to visit Ukraine and see the devastation with his own eyes after the latter declined to label Russian atrocities as “genocide”.