The Russian strike went awry when the Iskander missile disintegrated and exploded shortly after launch, according to sources in Kyiv who say it went down.

Vladimir Putin suffered further humiliation after a missile fired at Ukraine disintegrated shortly after launch.

The Russian strike allegedly went wrong when the Iskander missile disintegrated and exploded upon firing, sources in Kyiv said.

Video shows extraordinary fireworks as the rocket ‘flares’ with its engine apparently misfiring.

The rocket disintegrated with the detonation of its solid propellant, without the warhead exploding, one account said.

The missile was fired towards Ukraine from the Belgorod region, it was claimed.

A Ukrainian channel mocked “the real level of technological backwardness of the Russian military-industrial complex” in the missile failure.

He warned that people in frontline Russian cities should be afraid of their own “defenders”.

The video highlighted by the Inform Napalm Telegram channel was obviously filmed from inside Russia.

Another report said: “Russia continues to fire missiles at Ukraine from its territory, but all is not well.

“One of the Iskander missiles just crashed into the sky over Belgorod.

“The Russian Federation is actively launching Iskanders into Ukraine from the Belgorod region at night.

“The other day, civilians videotaped how the rocket collapsed with the fuel detonated and without the warhead exploding.

“It is possible that the emergency self-destruct system was activated due to engine failure.

“In any event, it demonstrates that the Russian military is not doing as well with Iskanders as Russian propaganda claims.”

The Iskander is a mobile short-range ballistic missile.

Worryingly, for the West, the missile is supposed to have nuclear capability.

It also has conventional cluster munition warheads, high-explosive explosive warheads, and high-explosive fragmentation warheads.

It can be deployed for bunker destruction and for anti-radar missions.

The Mirror yesterday explained that neighboring Finland had been preparing for a Russian attack for decades and would put up fierce resistance if such an attack happened, its armed forces chief said.

The Nordic country has built up a substantial arsenal. But apart from military hardware, General Timo Kivinen said, a crucial factor is that the Finns would be motivated to fight.

“The most important line of defense is between the ears, as the war in Ukraine right now proves,” Kivinen said in an interview.

Finland fought two wars in the 1940s against its eastern neighbor, with which it shares a 1,300 km (810 mile) border.

Once a non-aligned country, it is now asking to join the NATO military alliance, fearing that Russia will invade Ukraine as it did on February 24.

Kivnen added; “We have systematically developed our military defense precisely for this type of war that is going on there (in Ukraine), with massive use of firepower, armored forces and also air forces.

“Ukraine was a tough chew (for Russia) and so was Finland.”