In the wake of the Russian advance in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press has revealed the horrifying devastation inflicted on the village of Ocheretyne. The footage showcases the village, once home to approximately 3,000 residents, left in ruins due to relentless bombardment by Russian forces.

Russian troops have relentlessly attacked the area, utilizing artillery, drones, and bombs to overwhelm the already depleted and ammunition-deprived Ukrainian forces in Kyiv. The situation in Ocheretyne has become particularly dire, with the Ukrainian military acknowledging that the Russian forces have gained a strong foothold in the village. Ukrainian troops continue to fight back, but the extent of the damage is overwhelming.

The footage paints a stark picture of the village's devastation, with not a single person in sight and nearly every building in Ocheretyne severely damaged or destroyed. Houses, apartment blocks, and other structures are reduced to piles of debris, rendering them beyond repair. Even a factory on the outskirts of the village has suffered significant damage.

Smoke billows from numerous houses in the footage, indicating ongoing fires that have engulfed at least two buildings. The residents of Ocheretyne have been left with no choice but to flee, escaping the horrors of war. One remarkable example of resilience is a 98-year-old woman who, wearing only a pair of slippers and supported by a cane, walked nearly 10 kilometers (6 miles) alone until she reached the safety of the Ukrainian front lines.

Meanwhile, Russia intensifies its attacks on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, with the aim of crippling the region's energy infrastructure and terrorizing its 1.3 million inhabitants. Overnight, Russian forces struck Kharkiv with exploding drones, resulting in four individuals being injured by falling debris, including a 13-year-old. Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted and shot down all 13 Shahed drones launched by Russia at the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

In recent developments, Russia claimed that its forces shot down four U.S.-provided long-range ATACMS missiles over the Crimean Peninsula, which it illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The details surrounding this incident remain undisclosed. Ukrainian officials had revealed last week that they began using these missiles covertly provided by the United States to target Russian-held areas, including a military airfield in Crimea and an area east of the occupied city of Berdyansk. These missiles have extended Ukraine's striking range to nearly 300 kilometers (190 miles), almost twice as far as their previous mid-range weapons.

As the conflict escalates, Ukraine faces an uphill battle against the relentless onslaught by Russian forces. The footage from Ocheretyne serves as a chilling reminder of the human cost and destruction caused by this devastating conflict.