A Russian command post was reduced to rubble in a bombing blitz by Ukrainian marines.

Footage of the strike by the naval unit on May 12 shows bombs being released over a target, said to be a Russian base.

As they tumble to the ground a series of massive explosions rip through the buildings below.

In a grim joke, Ukrainian military leaders described the bombs as ‘letters of happiness.’

The Ukrainian Navy said fighters from the 503rd Independent Marine Infantry Battalion took part in the attack.
The Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on May 11: ‘Marines continue to dispose of Russian fascist evil.

‘In particular, fighters from the 503rd Separate Battalion of Marines sent ‘letters of happiness’ to tear the orcs away from their ‘joy’.

‘Burn the invaders in hell! Glory to the Marines! Glory to Ukraine!’

From February 24 to May 12, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at around 26,650 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military also claims that Russia has lost 1,195 tanks, 2,873 armoured fighting vehicles, 534 artillery systems, 191 multiple launch rocket systems, 87 anti-aircraft systems, 199 warplanes, 161 helicopters, 2,019 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 13 vessels, 398 unmanned aerial vehicles, 41 units of special equipment and 94 cruise missiles.

The update comes as Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, looks poised to join NATO.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February, a minority of Finns supported NATO membership. Now, a majority do.

And Sweden, which shares a maritime border with Russia, may also follow suit.

Russia - whose president, Vladimir Putin, has spoken out time and again against NATO expansion - has threatened both countries with consequences if they do indeed join the military alliance.

Despite Finland and Sweden having not yet joined the alliance, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already offered security guarantees to both.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Ukrainian forces have been repelling Russian troops from around the besieged country's second-largest city, Kharkiv.

But both sides' forces appear to be locked in a stalemate in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

Elsewhere, the new authorities in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson have said that they plan to request formal annexation by Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has maintained that the war will only end when Ukraine recovers all its territories taken by Russia.