Ukraine’s army has released a video of a devastating airstrike it recently carried out in the Kursk region in Russia.

The video, shot by a drone, captures the moment two AASM Hammer guide bombs hit a block of flats.

The five-storey block of flats was being used as an operational base by Russian drone operators, according to Ukraine’s military.

The building is enveloped by thick black smoke and huge balls of flames as the bombs strike their target with lethal accuracy.

The AASM Hammer is an all-weather smart air-to-surface weapon with an extended stand-off capacity.

The missiles, produced by the French defence corporation Safran, have a range of over 70 kilometres (40 miles).

The Kursk region continues to see heavy fighting as Vladimir Putin’s troops attempt to repel Ukraine’s army from the territory.

Ukraine launched a daring cross-border incursion into the Russian region at the start of August.

Kyiv’s troops quickly seized some 500 square miles of territory and over 100 settlements, stunning the Kremlin and forcing Putin’s generals to relocate troops to the region from other areas of the frontlines in Ukraine.

The Russians have since launched a concerted counterattack to recapture the seized territory.

Ukraine’s army chief said on Friday his forces had killed, injured, or captured 17,819 Russian soldiers in Kursk Oblast since the first days of the incursion.

A total of 6,662 Russian troops have been killed, 10,446 wounded, and 711 captured since August 8, Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed.

The Ukrainian commander also denied claims made by Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan that 2,000 of his soldiers were cut off in Kursk.

“This is outright disinformation that does not reflect the real situation,” Syrskyi said.

“Ukrainian troops continue active operations in the Kursk direction, destroying the enemy’s combat potential for the third month in a row.”

His comments come amid reports that Russia has already deployed North Korean troops to the Kursk front.