Watch terrifying moment Ukrainian jets launch British-French cruise missiles at Russian troops outside ‘key’ city

THIS is the heart-stopping moment Ukrainian forces fire British-French cruise missiles at a large group of Russian troops.

Footage shows a Ukrainian aircraft striking two command centres of troops advancing towards a key city.

The clip shows plumes of smoke coming from the explosion site, Sky News reports.

The missile attack took place on Friday in the town of Avdiivka, part of the Donestk region, which was previously captured by Russian forces in February.

Russian commanders had been pouring troops, military equipment and supplies into the occupied areas of Donetsk as part of their offensive towards the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk, according to a local source.

They said: "The Ukrainian Armed Forces used Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles, gifted by Western nations."

Storm Shadow is the name given by Britain to the UK-Franco manufactured munition. Scalp is the French name.

Details about whether any Russian military personnel were killed or wounded were not immediately clear.

The missile attack comes as Russian forces have been spotted advancing on Pokrovsk, on the eastern front where most of the intense fighting continues.

Ukraine's ambassador previously pleaded with Sir Keir Starmer to let his country strike Russia.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi urged the PM to let UK-made Storm Shadow missiles be fired over the border.

He told Labour’s conference: “If Russia fires missiles at any targets in Ukraine it’s Ukraine’s right to respond in kind by hitting military targets within Russia. It’s the principle of self-defence.”

The Foreign Secretary refused to confirm if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will soon be given the go-ahead to fire Western weapons.

But Mr Lammy said: “I told Zelensky, this Labour Government will always stand with his courageous hope.

“We need to show Putin that Britain and its allies are not going anywhere which is why this Government has increased support to Ukraine, and we’ve committed £3bn a year in military aid as long as it takes.

The movement came after Ukraine blitzed Moscow with its biggest ever drone attack.

At least 140 large, plane-sized flying bombs sparked panic and chaos in the Russian capital.

Many were downed but several penetrated defences and one woman was killed when an apartment block was hit.

Russia's defence ministry claimed to have "intercepted and destroyed" 144 of the drones but conceded that some got through, hitting apartment blocks and starting fires.

Meanwhile, mad Vlad has has issued a chilling threat to launch nukes days after a terrifying simulation showed London being nuked.

The despot dictator escalated his nuclear threats against the West, telling his security council he needed to "correct" the Kremlin nuclear doctrine.

It would allow the despot to deploy nukes if Russia or key ally Belarus was hit with conventional missiles.

The Kremlin chief said Moscow would consider any assault supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack.

He said: "Aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, is treated as a joint attack on the Russian Federation."

The Kremlin said the changes outlined by Putin should be considered a signal to the West that there will be consequences if Western powers participate in attacks on Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would make a decision on whether not to publish the updated nuclear documents, adding that adjustments to the document on state nuclear deterrence were being formulated.

Previously, Russia’s nuclear doctrine had only allowed it to launch a nuclear strike after a direct attack by an enemy armed with nuclear weapons.

The warning comes after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, was due to meet Joe Biden at the White House to push for permission to fire US-made long-range missiles at Russia.

Putin and other top Kremlin officials have regularly threatened to carry out a nuclear strike because of Western support for Ukraine since it invaded in 2022.

The threats come days after a terrifying simulation showed a fireball over Westminster was shared on Russian TV.

The clip was shared by a staunchly pro-Putin propaganda TV channel and appears to be the latest move to scare Britain from giving permission to Ukraine to fire Storm Shadow missiles far inside Russia.