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THIS is the dramatic moment drones allegedly obliterate Russian tanks and missiles as Ukrainians are heard cheering.

In the footage, a Russian vehicle carrying what looks to be missiles, and a military tank are seen exploding into fireballs as Putin's invasion continues to crumble.

The footage appeared on Ukrainian military channels on social media
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The footage appeared on Ukrainian military channels on social mediaCredit: Telegram
The vehicle, carrying the missiles, exploded
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The vehicle, carrying the missiles, explodedCredit: Telegram

The footage, although not immediately verified, appeared on Ukrainian military channels on social media.

And cheers could be heard in the background as the military machines, thought to be Russian, were thrown up in flames.

This comes as footage earlier showed the moment a column of Russian tanks were destroyed by a Ukrainian ambush near Kyiv.

The attack reportedly claimed the life of yet another senior Russian commander as Vladimir Putin’s forces press in on the capital city.

The Ukrainians have now claimed to have killed more than 12,000 Russians since Putin ordered his troops into their country.

The Russian tyrant expected a quick victory when he ordered the invasion two weeks, ago but his forces have become bogged down and now regularly hit civilians.

Moscow's forces were said to be making rapid advances towards Brovary, a large eastern suburb of Kyiv, in what is believed to be the start of a bid to seize the city.

But video taken from a Ukrainian drone shows the tanks bombarded with artillery in the devastating ambush and forced to turn back.

An intercepted radio conversation appears to reveal the column took heavy losses, with the regimental commander killed.

It's believed the Ukrainians hit the Russian fleet in the clips
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It's believed the Ukrainians hit the Russian fleet in the clipsCredit: Telegram
The Russian tanks were seen on fire following the drone hit
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The Russian tanks were seen on fire following the drone hitCredit: Telegram
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According to Ukraine's defence ministry, the dead officer was Colonel Andrei Zakharov, the commander of a tank regiment.

He was pictured being awarded the Order of Courage by Vladimir Putin himself in 2016.

His death adds to the toll of Russian commanders killed during the invasion of Ukraine, which includes three generals, with the operation reportedly described as a "clusterf***" by one Kremlin insider.

Aleksey Danilov, Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, said the failures have now led to eight generals also being fired, .

He also revealed the Russians have switched tactics in the wake of the slaughter of the their troops.

The invasion has also seen Russian pilots blasted out of the sky, tanks caught in huge traffic jams and videos of sobbing showing soldiers after surrendering to the Ukrainians.

Zakharov's death comes after that of Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, who was killed in fighting outside Ukraine's second city Kharkiv earlier this week.

Other footage taken from the scene of the ambush, shows burning Russian vehicles on the road, which include a terrifying thermobaric rocket launcher.

It comes as...

Fighting had been intensified in the Brovary area, amid claims the Russians have been terrorising the local population and even using them as human shields.

"They shoot to scare people and force them to stay at home, steal what they can to get supplies and settle among the inhabitants, so that the Ukrainian forces do not bomb them," said Volodymyr, a 41-year-old resident of Velyka Dymerka, nine miles from Brovary.

Overnight, the Ukrainian General Staff said Russian forces were continuing their "offensive operation" to encircle Kyiv, while pressing attacks on a string of other cities across the country.

Vadym Denysenko, adviser to the interior ministry, said Ukrainian forces had managed to stop the attack in Irpin and were counter-attacking on Thursday morning with battles now underway.

“The night was quite difficult, but in general we can say that the Ukrainian army counterattacked near Kyiv,” he said.

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said the Russian mission to assault the Ukrainian capital is now underway.

Meanwhile, in Mariupol in the south of Ukraine, pictures show corpses being put in body bags and dumped in mass graves following heavy shelling.

And missiles rained down on Kharkiv as the White House warned desperate Vladimir Putin could unleash biological and chemical weapons on Ukraine.

In Mariupol workers were seen digging a 25 yard trench at one of the old cemeteries in the besieged port city, making the sign of the cross as they push the dead bodies into the pit.

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It comes after Russia shelled a maternity hospital in Mariupol, killing three, including a six-year-old girl.

A further 17 people were injured, including heavily-pregnant women.

The column of Russian tanks were seen coming under fire
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The column of Russian tanks were seen coming under fireCredit: Reuters
Colonel Andrei Zakharov was reportedly the killed in the attack
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Colonel Andrei Zakharov was reportedly the killed in the attackCredit: President of Russia / twitter
The aftermath of the attack seen from the ground
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The aftermath of the attack seen from the ground
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