This is the moment Russian troops prepare a battery of howitzers in a trench and blast multiple Ukrainian targets.

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said they used 152 mm 2A65 Msta-B howitzers to destroy Ukrainian armoured vehicles and fortified strongholds.

The attack was carried out by members of the Western Military District, one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, at a distance of between 10 and 15 kilometres.

The Russian MoD said on 24th May: “Footage shows the combat work of the 152-mm ‘Msta-B’ howitzers of the Western Military District when performing firing operations to destroy armoured vehicles and fortified positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

In the video, Russian troops are seen loading up the battery of howitzers before sending a volley of missiles that apparently hit their intended targets.

Meanwhile, Russian forces are currently trying to encircle the eastern cities of Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk and Rubizhne, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces are trying to destroy “everything living” in the embattled Donbas region and he reiterated that his country remains disposed to exchange prisoners with Russia.

Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 90th day of the campaign.

From 24th February to 24th May, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at around 29,350 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military also claims that Russia has lost 1,302 tanks, 3,194 armoured fighting vehicles, 606 artillery systems, 201 multiple launch rocket systems, 93 anti-aircraft systems, 205 warplanes, 170 helicopters, 2,213 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 13 vessels, 480 unmanned aerial vehicles, 43 units of special equipment, and 112 cruise missiles.

Last week, President Zelenskyy called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine an “absolute failure” and said Russian leaders were afraid to acknowledge “that catastrophic mistakes were made at the highest military and state level”.

He also said that said Ukraine is determined to reclaim control over the southern cities of Kherson, Melitopol, Berdiansk, Enerhodar and Mariupol, currently occupied by Russian forces.