Russia said its paratroopers have destroyed Ukrainian troops in shelters by using first-person view drones.

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said paratroopers from the 98th Guards Airborne Division based in Ivanovo, Russia, took down soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces located in shelters in Artemovsk, in Ukraine's city of Bakhmut, on December 26.

The ministry said in a statement: 'Having launched the first-person view [FPV] drone, the operator brought it to the target - a dugout with enemy infantry in a strong point north-west of Artemovsk near the road to Chasov Yar.

'Having identified the target, the operator professionally flew the drone towards it, while his assistant corrected the drone's flight, ensuring its precise guidance to the target.'

The drone precisely hit the Ukrainian soldiers in their shelters. A repeated strike by another drone killed several other Ukrainian militants, stated the ministry.

It continued: 'The surviving militants ran out of the dugout and tried to take cover near broken Ukrainian equipment along the road to Chasov Yar.

'But the operators of the FPV drones of the Airborne Forces did not allow them to leave and destroyed the surviving militants with two more FPV drones near the destroyed Ukrainian tanks.

'In total, the enemy lost up to two infantry squads.

'After completing the combat mission, in order to avoid retaliatory defeat by the enemy, the crew of the 'winged infantry' attack drones quickly changed their position.'