Ukraine kills 24 Russian kamikaze drone pilots with US-made HIMARS missile in 'doomsday' attack on Putin's forces

A UKRAINIAN missile attack killed 24 Russian kamikaze drone operators in a major blow to Vladimir Putin.

Dramatic aerial footage shows flames and thick black smoke billowing from the site shortly after the attack.

The attack killed 24 Russians at the Vostochny military training baseCredit: East2West

The Russians were hit by an American-made HIMARS missileCredit: East2West

After the impact, thick black smoke can be seen coming from the locationCredit: East2West

The drone operators and trainers were hit by a HIMARS missile in a fatal attack.

The attack took place on Wednesday, but the footage has only now been released.

Russian sources have expressed anger over the “negligence” that allowed Kyiv to know about the meeting at the Vostochny military training ground near Ilovaisk in the occupied Donetsk region.

“At 2:40 p.m., this concentration of military personnel and vehicles was hit by a HIMARS missile system,” Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU reported.

“The attack immediately killed 22 soldiers.

“They were discovered immediately and the bodies of two more were later found.

“Three Russian soldiers with mine explosion wounds were hospitalized.”

Two UAZ Patriot military SUVs were destroyed, along with a UAZ 452 van and a Ford Transit.

The military personnel underwent an “exam” in flying kamikaze drones before being deployed to fly UAVs to Ukrainian targets.

Russian pro-war military blogger Vladimir Romanov expressed anger at the strike.

He blamed a security flaw where the training session organizer had provided the location online on a bot that was openly accessible.

Blaming commanders, he said: “We have been fighting for almost two years, but there has been no increase in brainpower.”

He demanded: “I would like to know… who is to blame for the fact that [map] coordinates were given to almost anyone who wanted them?

“Who is to blame for the exam taking place multiple times at the same point?

“Who will bear responsibility for the negligence?

“What conclusions will be drawn from this tragedy?”

There have been no official Russian statements about the strike.

But Romanov said the Russian military had “recognized that a tragedy had occurred, and mourned and apologized to relatives.”

Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko released footage of the attack, noting: “HIMARS arranged a 'doomsday' for the Russians near occupied Ilovaisk.”