THIS is the heart-stopping moment Ukrainian troops wipe out a huge Russian assault group after a grinding two and a half hour battle.

Footage captured the dozens of massive blasts erupting during the large-scale assault which left 140 of Vladimir Putin’s soldiers and 29 vehicles eliminated.

The bloody fight took place on the frontlines near to Stepove and Lobkove in the south of Ukraine.

Russia are said to have launched an assault of their own on April 16 with Putin’s men continuing to try and extend their territorial gains within Ukraine.

Units from the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District are said to have charged on Ukrainian positions in the early evening.

It involved at least 320 troops, 40 armoured vehicles, 10 ATVs and three tanks.

But the heroic Ukrainian troops were able to valiantly repel the attack and take out their enemies in the process.

The defenders first anticipated the attack after aerial reconnaissance detected Russian movement along the frontlines.

They quickly shot into action and used drones and artillery to stop the incoming threat.

Fighting took place near the settlements of Piatykhatky, Stepove, Lobkove, Mala Tokmachka and Mali Shcherbaky.

The intense battle lasted for over two and a half hours before the Ukrainians managed to fend off any further attacks.

Dramatic footage filmed from drones showcased the best strikes from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

One of the first pinpoint drone strikes saw a number of Russian ATVs decimated in huge blasts.

Huge plumes of smoke could be seen flying out the back of one of the vehicles as it drastically came to a stop after a big hit.

A pair of Russians were then seen fleeing from the battlefield.

Elsewhere, a string of aerial attacks were seen raining down on a Russian convoy as they sped through a field.

As the Russians cowered underneath rows of trees Ukraine’s impervious aerial defences ramped up their attacks.

Videos show how a string of overhead drones were able to locate hiding troops and blast them out of their positions.

After a few near misses, one of the armoured trucks was seen being blasted in the air as it struggled to remain intact.

Putin’s men were later seen running for their lives after they realised they were being outclassed on the battlefield.

The footage captured swaths of soldiers trying to find cover inside buildings as drones continued to fly overhead.

At one point, the Ukrainians had managed to create a smoking pile of battered trucks.

The first defeat of Russian equipment occurred eight kilometres from the line of contact when three infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed.

Ukraine have continued to hold up Putin’s forces from making any more major ground as ceasefire talks continue.

Footage released earlier this week, showed how Ukraine used kamikaze drones to destroy a Russian squadron in a giant fireball blast.

The attack was a calculated revenge strike on the twisted Russian missile unit behind the deadly Sumy attack which left 34 people dead.

Footage shows a UAV flying above the city of Shuya in Ivanovo Oblast where Vladimir Putin’s 112th Missile Brigade were cowering after they left Sumy in ruins on Palm Sunday.

It can be seen quickly plunging towards the ground as it collides with its intended target which is believed to have been a Russian base.

The strikes came just hours before the US issued its most stern warning yet about wanting to secure peace.

US state department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said: “There will be no negotiations, no decisions, no agreements until this carnage stops.”

She added that the continuing slaughter of civilians only raises questions over who is truly committed to peace.

It comes as Trump’s top advisers arrived in Paris for talks with Europe over Ukraine and its future today.

US special envoys Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff will remain in France until Friday as they look to “stop the bloodshed”, according to a statement.

The meeting comes only days after Trump publicly blasted Volodymyr Zelensky for “allowing” Russia’s invasion.

Trump told reporters: “You don’t start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles.”

Putin is also set to discuss Ukraine when he welcomes Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Moscow this week.