A devastating new HIMARS missile attack has killed dozens of Russian troops, shocking drone footage from Ukraine appears to show.
If confirmed, it would be the second such attack by Ukraine in as many days, after Vladimir Putin was dealt a devastating blow on Wednesday by a HIMARS missile, which reportedly killed 65 Russian soldiers during a training exercise.
New video captured by a drone high above a Russian training ground in the occupied Kherson region reportedly shows the second attack carried out by Ukraine this week using the powerful US-supplied weapons.
The clip begins with a gathering of people – reportedly Russian soldiers – in a clearing covered in tank tracks near a lush green forest.
Suddenly, as the drone camera circles the group with a target marker in the center of the screen, a huge explosion goes off in the middle of the unit.
New video captured by a drone high above the battlefield in the occupied Kherson region is said to show the attack carried out by the powerful US weapons. A large group of pretend Russian soldiers are seen near a tree line
Suddenly, as the camera circles the group with a target marker in the center of the screen, a huge explosion goes off in the middle of the group, leaving a pile of bodies on the ground.
The video cuts to a second view of the open field as more soldiers gather in another group. The men look like ants from a distance as they take up position
This time the flash of a rocket is seen in a split second before another explosion erupts from the ground. The soldiers drop to the floor as if struck by lightning
The footage ends with a third explosion near the site of the first. Moments earlier, more people appear from the trees, apparently near the pile of bodies left by the earlier attack
A huge fireball rises into the air and as the smoke clears, you see several bodies scattered on the ground.
But the attack is not over yet. The video cuts to a second view of the open field as more soldiers gather in another group. The men look like ants from a distance as they take position and group themselves near a grove of trees.
This time the flash of a rocket is seen in a split second before another explosion erupts from the ground. The soldiers drop to the floor as if struck by lightning.
After a second or two you see some of them wriggling around in the mud. Others remain silent.
The footage ends with a third explosion, near the site of the first attack.
Moments earlier, more soldiers had appeared from the trees, apparently near the pile of bodies left by the earlier attack.
The images, which reportedly show a training ground in Podo-Kalinivka, were released by the Ukrainian side on Thursday.
Podo-Kalinivka is home to the Oleshky Sands Nature Park, a large national park in southern Ukraine, with vast expanses of sand. The images show that Russia uses the park as a training ground, with tank tracks in the sand.
One Ukrainian channel claimed the victims were marines from Sevastopol in annexed Crimea, 40 miles south of the natural park, and reported as many as 200 dead.
Other sources said the troops at the Kherson training ground included the 328th Airborne Assault Regiment, the 810th Marine Brigade and the 81st Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment.
Based on the evidence in the video, the toll appears lower than what the Telegram channel claims, but dozens of bodies are visible in the footage.
The ease with which they were targeted twice this week – when seven Russian fighter jets were also downed – is worrying Moscow.
At yesterday’s defeat, troops and officers were lined up awaiting inspection by commander Major General Oleg Moiseev. Footage of the aftermath of Wednesday’s strike was captured by shocked survivors
At least 65 Russian soldiers standing in formation were killed, according to reports from Ukraine
The dead soldiers line up as comrades prepare body bags
Ukraine clearly had information about the meeting with the disciplinarian Moiseev, commander of the 29th Army of the Eastern Military District and a hero of the pro-Putin propagandists.
‘The general outrage over the next HIMARS attack on yet another pointless formation of (military) personnel in the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) was not given time to subside when another formation followed with a new attack, but this time in the region Kherson,” the military informant channel reported.
“And again, of course, no one is to blame for anything…” it continued.
“Like last time, the bombardment was carried out from the HIMARS MLRS with M30A1 GMLRS rockets with tungsten bullets flying over the target in the air.”
Pre-war bloggers blame Russian commanders for marching and gathering their troops into formation, making them easy targets for the precision US-made HIMARS missiles piloted by reconnaissance drones.
At yesterday’s defeat, troops and officers were lined up awaiting inspection by commander Major General Oleg Moiseev.
Footage of the aftermath of Wednesday’s strike was captured by shocked survivors.
It showed dozens of bodies strewn across a pockmarked, charred field in the aftermath of the strike.
Pro-Putin war commentators have blamed General Moiseev for causing the mass deaths of his men. According to Russian sources, the precision HIMARS attack is said to have struck just before Moiseev reached the spot, devastating his company.
An angry response online said: “One can only be surprised at the lack of knowledge of (commanders) in the second year of (the war).”
Another channel said: ‘He set up this formation. He killed these men.”
War reporter Andrei Rudenko criticized commanders like Moiseev for deploying their troops close to the front line “to simply show how important you are.”
He sarcastically posted, “There is a very high chance you will receive a HIMARS MLRS missile in what is called your head.
‘Therefore, take good care of yourself and your subordinates!’
Prominent pro-Kremlin politician Vladimir Rogov lashed out at the “criminal practice” of parading soldiers in front of commanders in “missile-ridden terrain.”
Russia has not formally admitted to striking this week, but both are being accepted as damaging blows by Putin’s pro-war online channels.
But as Russia counted losses from the strikes, they came after Putin boasted of a “victory” in capturing glitzy Avdiivka, a major industrial city in the east.
Thanks to the US-supplied HIMARS missiles, Ukraine can attack Russian targets from a distance
Ukrainian soldiers have dug in around new positions outside the city and say Russian forces are now pushing into nearby towns and villages.
Russian forces captured Avdiivka after months of bombing left the city in ruins. It was Russia’s biggest battlefield victory in seven months since its forces captured Bakhmut in May 2023.
The capture of Avdiivka, after months of little change on the front lines, signaled a change in momentum as the second anniversary of the Russian invasion approaches.
President Vladimir Putin says Russian troops will push further into Ukraine.