Kremlin defence officials have released propaganda footage claiming to show a ‘high-precision’ missile being launched towards a Ukrainian target.

The video – released by Moscow defence officials – shows a Russian launcher daubed with a ‘V’ parked in a field and shooting a missile into the sky.

Newsflash obtained the footage from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Russian Federation yesterday afternoon (Wednesday, 30th March).

The Russian MoD claimed: “The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, during the course of the special military operation, continue to strike at military infrastructure and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with high-precision missiles.

“To complete the assigned tasks, Iskander operational-tactical missile systems are also involved.

“Combat crews act clearly and smoothly.”

However, the Kremlin would not say where or when the missile launch took place, what the target was or whether it hit anything.

It could have been a ham-fisted response to growing international criticism of Russia’s appalling bombardment of Ukrainian civilians.

“Special military operation” is the Kremlin’s preferred term for what has elsewhere been dubbed an “invasion” of or “war” on Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces.

The Russian government has ordered local media outlets to use the preferred term or risk being blocked by Roskomnadzor, the country’s internet censor board.

Russia has claimed it is only targeting military infrastructure and equipment in Ukraine with “high-precision” strikes, though footage from residential areas in Mariupol or Kharkiv would suggest otherwise.

The 9K720 Iskander referred to by the Russian MoD is a mobile short-range ballistic missile system manufactured in Votkinsk, Volgograd and Kolomna.

It has been in service since 2006 and is also employed by the Armenian Armed Forces and the Algerian People’s National Army, in addition to the Russian Ground Forces.

It has previously been used in the Russo-Georgian War (2008), the Syrian Civil War (2011-) and the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (2020).

Despite the MoD’s praise for its troops, the Russian Armed Forces are believed to have sustained heavy losses in the invasion so far.

According to the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces earlier today (Tuesday, 31st March), Russia has so far lost approximately 17,500 “invaders”, in addition to “nearly” 614 tanks, 1,735 armoured combat vehicles, 311 artillery systems and 96 MLR systems.

Ukrainian troops have also allegedly destroyed 54 air defence systems, 135 aircraft and 131 helicopters belonging to the enemy.

Due to the difficulties in collating information from war zones, these figures have not yet been independently verified.

The Russians have been daubing their military vehicles with the letters ‘V’ or ‘Z’ over the course of the invasion.

The Russian MoD claimed on 3rd March that ‘Z’ is an abbreviation of “za pobedu” (“for victory”), while ‘V’ stands for “sila v pravde” (“our strength is in truth”).

On Russian “truth”, former British Prime Minister David Cameron recently claimed: “From the times I’ve dealt with Putin, what I remember most about him is his barefaced lying. He could lie without flinching about the presence of Russian troops in the Donbas in 2012 or the fate of the Malaysian airliner shot down by Russian-backed separatists.”