THIS is the shocking moment a Russian kamikaze drone is destroyed before it can carry out its suicide mission.
Footage filmed from the ground shows a Russian Shahed drone streaking across the sky.
Moments later, it is struck by a Ukrainian F-16 fighter and explodes mid-air, bursting into a cloud of smoke and flames.
Debris is then seen raining down onto the snow-covered landscape below.
The Ukrainian pilot successfully neutralised the Russian drone before it could wreak havoc.
Russia has increasingly relied on attack drones, which carry explosive warheads designed to detonate on impact.
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Throughout the war, such drones have been used to target key infrastructure, including energy facilities, military positions and urban areas.
It remains unclear what this particular drone was targeting.
This latest incident comes after it emerged that Russia’s newly formed drone force is now larger than the entire British Army.
Moscow’s Unmanned Systems Forces number around 87,000 personnel, compared with just 70,000 in the British military.
A UK defence source described the figures as “genuinely worrying”.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said: “The Russian Unmanned Systems Forces have already reportedly formed seven regiments, 25 battalions, one division, and three detachments.”
In addition, Moscow is believed to have around 1,000 troops in its elite Rubicon drone force, alongside hundreds more in its Bar-Sarmat Unmanned Systems Special Purpose Centre.
Together, this brings Russia’s total drone force to close to 90,000.
By contrast, British Army numbers have fallen to 70,300 – the smallest force since 1803.
To make matters worse, only around 3,000 personnel are thought to have been trained to fly drones.
Armed Forces minister Al Carns has backed calls for improved drone training.
He said: “In Ukraine, drones are causing more casualties than artillery – that’s the reality of modern warfare.”
The Ministry of Defence said: “We are spending £4 billion on boosting our drone capabilities.
“The Army has already trained 3,000 drone pilots, with another 6,000 to be trained next year.”
Despite the growing disparity, Russia’s battlefield communications have been thrown into disarray after Ukrainian officials forced Elon Musk to deactivate Starlink terminals.
This loss of the satellite-based internet connection has reportedly “sparked deadly incidents of friendly fire”.
Crimean Tatar partisan group Atesh wrote on Telegram: “In the Zaporizhzhia direction, a complete breakdown in communications resulted in a typical case of ‘friendly fire.’
“Units, having no information about each other, opened fire on their own.
“As a result, a 12-man assault group was completely destroyed by its own forces.”