Russia has claimed that these images show airborne troops advancing in Ukraine during its ongoing invasion of the sovereign country.

The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD), which said that the images are “footage of the advancement of units of the Airborne Troops during the offensive.”

The images show various military vehicles, including tanks and armoured personnel carriers, as well as artillery units, some of them sporting the letter ‘V’ daubed in white paint, driving along dirt roads.

The ‘V’, and to a greater extent the now infamous ‘Z’, have become symbols of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, with numerous military vehicles seen sporting them. The ‘Z’ has become a symbol used by those who support Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Other military vehicles can be seen standing guard by the side of the dirt track. It is currently unclear where the images were filmed and they have not been independently verified, but combat is raging in eastern Ukraine over the Donbas region.

Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 99th day of the campaign.

From 24th February to 2nd June, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at around 30,850 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military also claims that Russia has lost 1,363 tanks, 3,354 armoured fighting vehicles, 661 artillery systems, 207 multiple launch rocket systems, 95 anti-aircraft systems, 210 warplanes, 175 helicopters, 2,325 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 13 vessels, 521 unmanned aerial vehicles, 51 units of special equipment, and 120 cruise missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called Russian strikes on a nitric acid tank in the besieged eastern city of Sievierodonetsk “madness”. Residents of Sievierodonetsk have been warned to remain in bomb shelters and to prepare masks to protect against toxic fumes as the fighting intensifies.

Analysts say up to 70 per cent of the city is now controlled by invading Russian forces, with almost all critical infrastructure and housing destroyed.

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement on Wednesday, 1st June at 6 AM, that the Yars mobile missile systems, which can carry nuclear warheads and which boast a reported range of over 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles), were performing “intensive manoeuvring operations on combat patrol routes in the Ivanovo Region”, east of the Russian capital Moscow.

This comes after United States President Joe Biden said he will send Kyiv more advanced rocket systems that will help to strike enemy forces from a longer distance. These rocket systems have double the range of the rocket systems used by Russian forces and are said to be much more accurate.