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THIS is the heart-pounding moment Ukrainian paratroopers try to ram through Russia's border by driving at full speed into dragon’s teeth.
Riding in a Kozak 2 armoured vehicle the soldiers carried out an extraordinary bid to smash through enemy lines.
They sought to destroy the Kolotilovka checkpoint along with Russia’s Belgorod region to expand the Ukrainian invasion.
So far the brave Ukrainian offensive has been successful in grabbing territory in neighbouring Kursk region.
Reports say the vehicle hit dragon's teeth barricades and was then attacked by a Russian FPV drone.
Russian artillerymen also unleashed a Krasnopol precision-guided shell at the vehicle.
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The Russians branded it a “suicide mission” attack by the Ukrainian paratroopers.
Yet some paratroopers miraculously escaped from the crashed, flaming vehicle.
One account said: “Barely alive after such a blow, the paratroopers still managed to unload at the entrance to the checkpoint."
The remaining troops were soon “eliminated”, according to other Russian reports.
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Others “burned with the vehicle”.
At least seven Ukrainian troops are seen on the video but there were likely up to 11 in the domestically-made Kozak-2.
Ukraine reportedly made several attempts to break through the border into the Belgorod region.
If the Kolotilovka attack is confirmed, it shows Ukraine suffering heavy losses from its attempt to grab Russian territory in a new military strategy.
The incident coincides with reports that Russia had repelled Ukrainian efforts to break the border at Kolotilovka.
There were also reports that Ukraine was using tanks against the border.
It comes as Ukraine launched a daring invasion onto Russian soil to try and stretch Putin's army as far as possible.
Vladimir Putin is 'rattled' by invasion
By Owen Leonard
VLADIMIR Putin has been labelled "hesitant" and "rattled" as the Russian tyrant grapples with Ukraine's surprise invasion.
Kyiv's troops launched a shock offensive into the Kursk region last week ruffling the president's feathers.
Footage has since emerged of a nervous Vlad addressing Russia's security and defence chiefs.
He appears unsteady as he twitches and rubs his hands together.
International Institute for Strategic Studies senior researcher Nigel Gould-Davies said the 71-year-old looked "rattled".
Gould-Davies wrote on X: "Putin discussing Ukraine’s incursion into Russia, which he says the West is behind.
"He looks and sounds not angry, outraged, determined — but hesitant and rattled."
Body language pro Professor Erik Bucy told The Sun that Putin was uncharacteristically speaking with "a halting and unconvincing delivery".
He said: "These clips of Putin depict a leader who has been knocked off balance.
"He comes across as both nonchalant and unconvinced by what he is saying, like a salesman reading a prepared script for the first time.
"For a warlord intent on dominating Ukraine and other neighbouring countries, Putin seems uncharacteristically subdued and preoccupied.
"Lacking conviction, he is clearly just reading whatever someone had just put in front of him."
The offensive has seen Volodymyr Zelensky's troops seize as much Russian land in just eight days of their mini invasion as Putin's forces achieved in the last eight months.
Ukraine's armed forces have stormed across the border in beefed up convoys including tanks and aircraft since starting to attack on August 6.
Kyiv now claims to control 74 settlements in Kusrk and a formidable 1,000 square kilometres of enemy soil as of Tuesday evening.
With the figure expected to continue to increase as they push on with their fiery war plans, says general Oleksander Syrsky.
Earlier today a dramatic video caught a British Challenger 2 tank in Russia for the first time before it was blown up, reports claim.
The shock footage shows a huge explosion as the alleged UK tank was reportedly deployed near Sudzha in Ukraine's Kursk invasion.
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And a video showed more than 100 trembling Vlad troops surrendered to Ukraine on their own turf amid claims their commanders abandoned them.
An entire Russian military unit gave up the fight and were taken prisoners of war within the embattled Kursk.