Russian missile launch fails and boomerangs back 'blowing up Putin's troops'

The moment a Russian surface-to-air missile turns and strikes the invading army that launched it has been caught in dramatic battlefield footage.

A short clip captured the moment pro-Russian separatists launched a rocket at Ukrainian troops in the city of Alchevsk, Luhansk in the early hours of Friday morning.

The bizarre mid-air malfunction sees the missile fail as it ascends in the night sky before looping back on itself and pummelling positions held by Vladimir Putin’s troops.

Alchevsk is one of several cities making up the conflict’s new frontline, where Ukrainian troops are fiercely defending their land from pro-Russian separatists and the Kremlin’s military.

Russian troops had reportedly launched the missile in an attempt to knock a Ukrainian aircraft out of the sky, according to a video posted on the Face of War Telegram channel.