The violent explosions which rocked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Wednesday night were caught on camera by CBS journalists.
Presenter Charlie D’Agata had just rounded off his live broadcast and the camera was still rolling – meaning the enormous flashes from Russian bombs could be seen lighting up the sky seconds after he finished talking.
D’Agata was looking at the camera when the first wave of yellow light hit the sky behind him, prompting him to ask: “What the hell was that?”
He added: “It was almost like lightning. A big flash.”
Within seconds there was another, larger burst of yellow light, which triggered D’Agata and his team to exclaim and crouch down beneath the camera for safety.
As the light faded, an ominous boom was heard in the background and the camera shook.
D’Agata can be heard from the side saying: “That was close. Close enough to see the flash.”
The 50-second clip was viewed more than 1.5 million times after it was posted at around 2am from Kyiv.
Producer Justine Redman shared the clip on her Twitter account and dubbed it the “biggest blasts we’ve ever seen”.
Similar snippets were shared all over Twitter:
Russian forces did face setbacks during the first week of their attack on Ukraine, but its military is now starting to close in several key cities.
A humanitarian crisis is rapidly emerging in many areas of the beleaguered country, with food and water access becoming a growing concern.
Around a million Ukrainians have fled the warzone as on Thursday, according to the UN (making it the fastest mass exodus of the 21st century).
The country’s officials have also reported approximately 2,000 Ukrainians have died since the war began a week ago, while the Kremlin alleges 498 Russians have been killed in the fighting.
The International Crime Court promised on Wednesday that it was already looking into an investigation around the potential war crimes committed by the Kremlin in Ukraine, after the UK and 37 other countries referred Russia.