Dozens of Chechen fighters were killed and injured in a deadly HIMARS missile strike, while they were filling up their military vehicles at a petrol station in occupied Ukraine.

       The shocking incident was caught on video by a Ukrainian drone before being distributed to social media channels.

       The attack happened in Kherson province in the south of Ukraine at a petrol station in Velyki Kopani. Images show vehicles from a Russian electronic warfare unit (EWU) known as Pole 21 filling up with fuel.

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       The EWU was accompanied by Chechen fighters, who are serving alongside the Russian army in Ukraine.

       As the drone observes the target, the petrol station suddenly crumples under the impact of the missile strike, which sends thick black smoke billowing towards the sky.

       In other footage the terrible aftermath of the lethal attack can be seen. A Chechen soldier carries the body of an injured colleague amid the burning wreck of military vehicles and rubble from the petrol station.

       Other bodies can be seen strewn around the forecourt of the gas station.

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       The Pole-21 is intended to counter high-precision weapons and other enemy systems that use satellite navigation. The task of this unit is to jam and suppress signals from navigation satellites.

       Without the ability to accurately determine its coordinates, an enemy missile, bomb or plane cannot carry out its combat mission. Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov claims to have sent over 26,000 of his personal militia to fight with Putin's army in Ukraine.

       The Chechen fighters have a reputation for brutality and have repeatedly been accused of committing war crimes.

       Last week, Kadyrov announced that Wagner's commander Alexander Kuznetsov will join the Chechen special forces unit Akhmat Spetsnaz along with 3,000 of his soldiers.

       Wagner was previously led by Yevgeny Prigozhin before he mysteriously died in a plane crash last year after leading an unsuccessful coup against Putin.