VIDEO: Line Of Fire: Russian Troops Load Up Howitzers And Blast Ukrainian Targets

This is the moment Russian soldiers load up their Msta-S 152-mm self-propelled howitzers and fire at Ukrainian targets.

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on 12th May: “Artillery units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carry out firing missions to destroy enemy artillery batteries, fortifications, weapons and military equipment, and suppress command posts.

“The crew fired at ranges of up to 30 kilometers.

“The artillery unit is capable of destroying fortifications by using high-explosive shells that cause maximum damage to fortifications, including underground concrete fortifications of the enemy.”

The footage shows Russian troops loading the howitzers and shooting in formation under tree cover.

From February 24 to May 12, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at around 26,650 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military also claims that Russia has lost 1,195 tanks, 2,873 armored fighting vehicles, 534 artillery systems, 191 multiple launch rocket systems, 87 anti-aircraft systems, 199 warplanes, 161 helicopters, 2,019 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 13 vessels, 398 unmanned aerial vehicles, 41 units of special equipment and 94 cruise missiles.

The update comes as Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, looks poised to join NATO.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, a minority of Finns supported NATO membership. Now, a majority do.

And Sweden, which shares a maritime border with Russia, may also follow suit.

Russia – whose president, Vladimir Putin, has spoken out time and again against NATO expansion – has threatened both countries with consequences if they do indeed join the military alliance.

Despite Finland and Sweden having not yet joined the alliance, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already offered security guarantees to both.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Ukrainian forces have been repelling Russian troops from around the besieged country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.

But both sides’ forces appear to be locked in a stalemate in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

Elsewhere, the new authorities in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson have said that they plan to request formal annexation by Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has maintained that the war will only end when Ukraine recovers all its territories taken by Russia.

The invasion is now in its 78th day.