THIS is the incredible moment a Russian tank explodes in a massive fireball sending its turret hurling 100ft into the air.
The dramatic footage believed to have been filmed in Dibrovne, Kharkiv shows the explosion of a Russian T-80 MBT following a Ukrainian strike.
The clip shows the moment the tank is blown up into pieces sparking a massive cloud of smoke with what appears to be a tank turret flying into the sky.
The video that was shared widely on social media, shows flames and smoke erupting from the tank while debris can be seen falling to the ground.
Twitter account Ukraine Weapons Tracker which has been following the war closely said the tank was “hit in recent fighting, and became smouldering scrap with great speed.”
It comes as Russia today claimed full control of Lysychansk, the last major Ukrainian-held city in Ukraine’s Luhansk province.
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Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed Vladimir Putin that troops and their allies had “gained full control over the city of Lysychansk”.
He said that Luhansk had been “liberated” after Russia earlier said its forces had captured villages around Lysychansk and encircled the city.
It is next to Severodonetsk which was one of the last areas in the eastern Luhansk region still under Ukrainian control until last week.
The gain of the city means that Moscow is closer to its goal of seizing all of the Donbas regions.
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Before Russia’s announcement, Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said on Telegram: “The occupiers threw all their forces on Lysychansk.
“They attacked the city with incomprehensibly cruel tactics.
“They suffer significant losses, but stubbornly advance. They are gaining a foothold in the city.”
On Saturday Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, said during an online interview that Russian forces had managed for the first time to cross the river from the north, creating a threatening situation.
He added they had not reached the centre of the city but that the course of the fighting indicated the battle for Lysychansk would be decided by Monday.
Meanwhile, the Russian leader’s allies have demanded “revenge” after up to five died in a suspected night-time Ukrainian bombardment of the Russian city Belgorod.
At least ten people were wounded including a child.
Senior Russian senator Andrei Klishas accused Ukraine of shelling a residential area of Belgorod and demanded retaliation.
He said: “The death of civilians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Belgorod are a direct act of aggression on the part of Ukraine and require the most severe – including a military – response.”.
Videos showed the carnage in the Russian city, some 25 miles from the Ukrainian border.
Pro-Vladimir Putin media called the Ukrainian attack an “act of terrorism”.
“It is obvious that this act of terrorism was committed in response to the liberation of Lysychansk by Russian troops,” reported Readovka.
“It is significant that each time the attacks on Russia and the liberated territories are becoming stronger, while there are no military or critical infrastructure facilities in the vicinity of the explosions.”
Ukrainian attacks were also reported on Kursk and Melitopol.
Readovka claimed that US-supplied HIMARS missiles could have been used, contrary to an agreement when the weapons were supplied to Ukraine.
The report stated: “The only way out of this situation is retaliatory strikes against the positions of the armed forces of Ukraine, along with command centres and warehouses with Western weapons.
“The terrorist state ‘Ukraine’ must be completely demilitarised.”
Air defences had shot down two incoming attacks, but a third got through, said reports.
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Russian sources said 11 apartment blocks were damaged and 39 private houses in Belgorod.
A resident said: “The sound was so strong that I jumped up, I woke up, got very scared and started screaming”.
