Russia has said that it has destroyed Ukrainian strongholds in the South Donetsk region using Su-34 fighter jets.

The footage reportedly shows one of the Russian jets being prepared for take-off before it takes to the skies and appears to bomb targets from the air.

The images then purport to show the fighter jet coming back in to land at the base.

The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Monday, April 15, along with a statement claiming: 'The crews of Su-34 fighter-bombers destroyed the enemy command post and manpower in the South Donetsk direction.

'The crews of multifunctional supersonic fighter-bombers Su-34 of the RussianAerospace Forces (VKS) attacked the enemy command post and manpower in the South Donetsk direction in the air defence zone.

'The strike was carried out by unguided ODAB-500 aerial bombs with a universal planning and correction module (UMPC), which allows for precise strikes from a safe distance from the line of combat contact.

'Having received confirmation from intelligence that the targets had been destroyed, the crews returned safely to the departure airfield.

'Multifunctional supersonic fighter-bombers Su-34 are in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces and daily carry out missions to destroy enemy concentrations of manpower, strongholds and military installations.'