The army recaptured the village of Staromaiorske on the southern front in a major breakthrough for President Volodymyr Zelensky – who posted a video of his forces celebrating the attack.

Dramatic footage appears to show the moment a deadly kamikaze drone strike hit Vladimir Putin’s £3billion bridge linking Russia to Crimea, sparking a huge fireball explosion.

Devastating flash floods have hit Sochi, Russia’s top resort from where Putin rules the country in summer. Footage shows how cars were washed away as the Matsesta River burst its banks.

The investigators discovered caches of weapons and ammunition, stashes of gold bars, a stuffed alligator and a framed photo of the severed heads of Prigozhin’s enemies

The chiefs of mercenary group Wagner faced threats to their families from Russia’s secret service before leader Yevgeny Prigozhin halted his march on the capital, intelligence officials say.

Captured by a Ukrainian drone and posted to online messaging platform Telegram, the footage shows three Russian soldiers aiming weapons in the direction of at least seven comrades.

The double blow for Putin came as Ukraine stepped up its counteroffensive, with Kyiv’s forces claiming they have liberated at least four front-line villages.

The Wagner boss said he was ‘deeply outraged’ by Putin’s troops doing ‘f*** all’ to prevent explosive drones raining down on the Russian capital this morning.

Over the past four days, Putin’s men have withdrawn from their positions on the southern flank of Bakhmut, the ministry said, in what will be a humiliating set back for the Kremlin.