Ukrainian Mortar Fire Destroys House After Fleeing Russian Troops Seek Shelter Inside It

This is the moment Russian soldiers fleeing for their lives run into a house only to be shelled by well-aimed Ukrainian mortar fire.

The footage begins by showing Russian soldiers running along a road towards a house while under mortar fire.

The house, in which they have just taken shelter, is then hit by Ukrainian ordnance in a cloud of smoke as the footage ends.

The images were obtained from the State Border Service of Ukraine on Saturday, 3rd December, along with a statement saying: "Military personnel of the State Border Service, together with the Defence Forces of Ukraine, are nearing victory over the Russian occupation forces.

"The other day, the reconnaissance of one of the mechanized brigades revealed the positions of the occupiers. In order to destroy the enemy by fire, the coordinates were transferred to the mortar unit of the border guards, which covers the actions of our forces in this direction.

"Under the mortar fire of Ukrainian soldiers, the occupiers fled from their positions to the village and took up residence in the very first house. Our mortars shifted fire to a new target and destroyed the invaders in the captured building."

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a "special military operation". Today marks the 285th day of the war.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 5th December, Russia had lost about 91,690 personnel, 2,924 tanks, 5,900 armoured combat vehicles, 1,914 artillery units, 395 multiple launch rocket systems, 211 air defence systems, 281 warplanes, 264 helicopters, 1,582 drones, 531 cruise missiles, 16 warships, 4,497 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 163 units of special equipment.

Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.

Avril Haines, the United States Director of National Intelligence, has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is now “better informed” about the challenges his army is facing in Ukraine.

It had previously been assessed that Putin was being shielded by his inner circle from the worst news about his troops’ performance in Ukraine.

Haines said that Putin was “becoming more informed of the challenges that the military faces.”

Haines also said that there will likely be a “reduced tempo” in fighting over the winter, adding: “Most of the fighting right now around Bakhmut and the Donetsk area has slowed down with the withdrawal of Russia from the western Kherson area to the east of the river. And we expect that’s likely to be what we see in the coming months.”

There is ongoing heavy fighting near the key town of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, where the Russian military has struggled for the last six months to make any substantial progress.

Ukrainian forces are also said to be making headway on the east bank of the Dnipro River after taking control of the city of Kherson.

Russia has also been intensifying its artillery attacks on the Kherson region since abandoning it and withdrawing to the east bank of the river.

There is reportedly a draft resolution circulating at the United Nations proposing a Nuremberg-style tribunal to hold Moscow to account for its crimes in Ukraine.

Rob Malley, the US special envoy on Iran, has said that the Islamic Republic has locked itself into a “vicious cycle” regarding the ongoing protests gripping the country and over providing Russia with weapons.

He said: “The more Iran represses, the more there will be sanctions; the more there are sanctions, the more Iran feels isolated.”

Malley added: “The more isolated they feel, the more they turn to Russia; the more they turn to Russia, the more sanctions there will be, the more the climate deteriorates, the less likely there will be nuclear diplomacy. So it is true right now the vicious cycles are all self-reinforcing.”

Some 500 localities in Ukraine remained without electricity on Sunday after weeks of Russian missile strikes targeting the country’s power grid, according to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry.