...This has prompted Russian elite paratroopers to stage a mutiny after witnessing their comrades being wiped out in battle, reports claim.

The soldiers were from key airborne forces headquarters in Pskov in northern Russia.

The refusenik troops had been moved to Belarus as part of the invasion force but after their mutiny, they were sent in disgrace back to their base in Pskov.

Some have been dismissed and branded "cowards" while others are set to face the Russian equivalent of a court-martial with likely jail sentences.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is reported to have sent one of his deputies to Pskov to handle the insubordination.

Ukraine claimed that the 60 or so troops were elite paratroopers but this is not so far confirmed, even though they are from Pskov, a key HQ of Russia’s most elite airborne forces.

Russian opposition outlet Pskovskaya Guberniya reported: "About 60 servicemen from Pskov refused to go to war on Ukrainian territory, according to our sources.

"After the first days of the war, they were first brought to the Republic of Belarus, and then they returned to their base in Pskov.

"Most of them are currently being dismissed, but some are threatened with criminal cases." ...