Moment more than 100 of Putin's troops 'are wiped out' in long-range strike ... trends now
This is the moment more than 100 Russian troops are believed to have been killed in an ATACMS tactical ballistic missile strike on occupied Luhansk.
A military training ground was seen being hit by multiple explosions typical of an ATACMS strike in footage captured by a drone flying high above.
The strike targeted a group of 100-plus soldiers who were seen in aerial images, say OSINT analysts in what would be the single largest loss of Russian stories in months.
The ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) showered the troops with hundreds of M74 APAM mini-bombs which are carried by the missiles and deployed in clusters.
The strike was some 48 miles behind the frontline at a training base, it was reported.
A grouping of what are believed to Russian soldiers at a training ground are seen in drone footage, moments before a suspected US-made ATACMS missile struck
The military training ground was seen being hit by multiple explosions typical of an ATACMS strike in footage captured by a drone flying high above
In addition to the training ground, at least two other sites were struck by the missiles
'Geolocation footage suggests that Ukrainian forces struck a Russian training ground southwest of Mozhnyakovka, killing 116 Russian troops,' stated the Institute for the Study of War in an update on the continuing war in Ukraine on Thursday.
There are growing signs that Ukraine is using the American-produced ATACMS after receiving a batch in early April ahead of a $61 billion military aid package which was finally approved by Congress late last month.
The New York Times reported last week that the US may have secretly shipped 100 ATACMS to Ukraine ahead of the bill's passage.
While the US had previously shipped ATACMS with a shorter range, the recent shipment is understood to include missiles that can travel around 190 miles - putting Russian targets that were previously safe behind the front lines well within range.
Footage of the recent attack appears to show the training ground as one such target.
The video shows a large grouping of figures, said to be Russian soldiers, grouped together on the training ground that is marked by several vehicle tracks.
A number of military vehicles are also seen parked nearby.
The camera then zooms far out showed a small nearby settlement as well as fields, forests and a winding river. While the soldiers themselves are no longer visible, the training ground clearing can be seen close to a bend in the river.
Suddenly, close to where the soldiers were seen, a large plume of dirt rises from the ground - believed to be where a dud missile smashed into a field.
But the Russian soldiers were less lucky with the next missile.
Over the area where the Russian soldiers were seen seconds earlier, hundreds of flashes of smoke are seen erupting over the clearing.
These flashes, according to analysts, were the M74 APAM mini-bombs detonating on the training ground, killing many of the Russian troops gathered there.
The camera zooms in on the training ground again to show dozens of objects billowing smoke over the ground where the troops had been.
A second area not far from the first is also then shown to have been struck, as is a third area over a forest.
Western analysts said the attack occurred between the Ukrainian towns of Kuban and Mozhnyakivka, about 50 miles into Russian-held territory.
The ISW said the attack likely involved four ATACMS, while GeoConfirmed - a community-based geolocating platform which works to verify pictures and video from the conflict - said that one of the ATACMS was likely a dud.
Analysts believe the footage shows as many as 116 soldiers were training before the strike
Footage after the strike shows where the soldiers had been moments earlier, as smoke rises from the hundreds of bomblets that are deployed in clusters by the ATACMS
In total, the ISW said that 116 Russian soldiers were killed in the attack.
Oleksandr Musiienko, head of Ukraine's Centre for Military-Legal Studies, said the troops had been preparing for an offensive in Ukraine's Kharkiv region.
'Such strikes in the Luhansk region are crucial,' he said, The Telegraph reported.
'It's precisely in the territory of the northeastern part of the Luhansk region that Russia has been training and coordinating its units, which were specifically preparing for an escalation of hostilities in the Kharkiv region, where Russia plans to reinforce its advance.'
There was another blow for Russian
