Vladimir Putin has been left red-faced after Russian soldiers reportedly blew themselves up trying to place anti-tank mines from the 1950s.
Ukraine ’s ministry of defence has openly mocked Russia ’s forces after dated ammunition was spotted in a military convoy arriving in the occupied Kherson region.
A Canadian volunteer, who is currently fighting alongside Ukraine in Kherson shared the update on Twitter. He wrote: “In the Kherson region, the Russians are reinforcing their positions with anti-personnel and anti-tank mines that were made in the 1950s. As a result, several cases have been reported of Russian sappers blowing themselves up trying to place said mines.”
The number of casualties as a result of this "friendly fire " are unclear, with Russia, so far, not acknowledging the incident, reports the Express.
Earlier on Thursday, it was reported that Putin could march troops into a “weak” Europe if he is successful in Ukraine as a new target was named.
Olga Lautman, senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said the West must act now to ensure an "emboldened" Putin does not succeed in his mission.
She told The Sun: “Russia’s appetite won’t stop. We’ve seen it and we’ve seen that negotiations with them don’t work. Their word is worth nothing they need to be contained because if they are not, the threat they will pose will be far greater than Ukraine.
"If Ukraine seeks to end the war, Russia will never stop and Russia will go march through Europe. Because, for them, the less pushback they have, the more emboldened they are."
Lautman's warning comes as a Russian politician presents a draft bill that would revoke the recognition of Lithuania's declaration of independence in 1991.
If a majority of Russian MPs vote in favour, Russia will no longer recognise that Lithuania left the Soviet Union in a legal way.
Lautman added: “If you ignore or try to negotiate, the negotiations in Russia’s mind are only how to seek weaknesses from their opponents, so they can use them as pressure points.”
Sign up to get the Mirror's biggest and best stories delivered straight to your inbox at www.mirror.co.uk/email
