This is the moment Russian soldiers prepare an S-300V anti-ballistic missile system and fire a rocket at a Ukrainian air target.

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said air-defence crews on combat duty are using the S-300V missile system to help with their ‘special military operation’ to “demilitarize and denazify” the Donbas region.

The Russian military said the anti-ballistic missile system is very effective against both helicopters and aircraft as well as defending against cruise, aeroballistic and ballistic missiles, claiming that a battery can control the airspace for miles around.

The S-300V is also used to down combat drones, including the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) commonly used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

In other developments, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces have attacked over 40 towns in the eastern Donbas region.

They added that five civilians died, 12 were wounded and 47 civilian sites were destroyed or damaged in the latest attacks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that makes it easier for Ukrainians in occupied areas to become citizens of Russia.

Russia has also done away with the upper age limit for contractual service in its military.

Ukraine has called Russia’s offer to lift the blockade of its Black Sea ports in return for the lifting of some sanctions “blackmail”.

The blockade has led to shortages in wheat and cooking oil across the world.

Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 93rd day of the campaign.

From 24th February to 26th May, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at around 29,600 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military also claims that Russia has lost 1,315 tanks, 3,235 armoured fighting vehicles, 617 artillery systems, 201 multiple launch rocket systems, 93 anti-aircraft systems, 206 warplanes, 170 helicopters, 2,225 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 13 vessels, 502 unmanned aerial vehicles, 47 units of special equipment, and 114 cruise missiles.