Russian tank open fire on cyclist in Bucha

• Footage of the attack in Kyiv Oblast shows a man walking his bicycle up a street
• The drone camera pans upwards to show a column of Russian military vehicles
• Two are shown lying in wait down a street off the road the cyclist is walking up
• As he turns the corner, one of the armoured vehicles appears to open fire
• The second - a tank - is also shown firing in his direction moments later
• A second video reportedly shows the man lying dead on the side of the road
• It comes as the horrors suffered by Bucha under Russian occupation are realised
• WARNING: Graphic images 

The moment Russian tanks appeared to open fire on a cyclist in the town of Bucha was captured on video by a drone, in potentially more damning evidence of war crimes carried out by Vladimir Putin's forces in Ukraine.

Footage of the attack in the Kyiv Oblast town shows a man walking his bicycle up a street, apparently unaware that several Russian tanks lay in wait around the corner.

Another video purportedly showed the aftermath of the attack after Bucha was reclaimed from Moscow's clutches in recent days. In it, a person believed to be the same man can be seen dead on the side of the road next to his bicycle.

In the first video, captured on March 3, the drone appears to be watching the Russian tank column, but the footage also tracks the man as he is walking up the road that runs through a neighbourhood of destroyed or damaged buildings.

The operator of the drone repeatedly pans upwards, showing a long queue of military vehicles - including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and trucks - positioned between buildings, on the next street over from the man.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES - Scroll down for video

Pictured: A Russian military vehicle (top-left) is seen in drone footage positioned on a road moments after a cyclist turned the corner into the street. The vehicle opened fire
Drone footage shows Russian tank open fire on cyclist in Bucha

Drone footage shows plumes of smoke from fire in Leyton

As the cyclist continues down the street - first on his bicycle and then on foot, pushing it along side him - the drone focuses more on his movement up the road.

He is shown nearing a junction in the road and turns left down a narrower street, where an armoured vehicle and a tank are positioned around 150ft away.

As soon as he turns the corner into the side road, a flash is seen from the armoured vehicle's turret, and a rocket is shown flying through the air.



Pictured: A cyclist (circled) is seen riding up a road in Bucha, Ukraine, just one street away from where several Russian tanks and other armoured vehicles are positioned (top-left)

Pictured: As the drone camera panned up from where the cyclist was, it captured a long line of several Russian military vehicles - including tanks, armoured vehicles and personnel carriers

Pictured: Drone footage showing the moment the Russian vehicle opened fire after the cyclist turned the corner. A round is shown flying through the air towards the cyclist

A Russian vehicle (left) is shown firing moments after the cyclist (right) turned the corner

Pictured: A rocket (right) fired from the turret of a Russian vehicle (left) is shown flying through the air in the direction of a man who has just turned the corner with his bike in Bucha

A flash is seen as a tank (left) also fires after the man turned the corner into the side road

The video shows the armoured vehicle opening fire, letting off several more shots in the direction of where the man entered the side road.

After several blasts, the camera zooms in, and a larger flash is also seen when the tank - positioned parallel to the armoured vehicle - also fires in the man's direction.

By this point in the video, the view of the man has been obstructed by a tree and some fencing after he turned the corner.

However, another video taken on the street - shared by investigative agency Bellingcat and captured some time later - reportedly showed the same junction after the attack. A man, said to be the same as in the first video, can be seen dead - slumped on the side of the road with his bicycle.
  
Pictured: Still grabs from a video purportedly showing the aftermath of the attack on the cyclist in Bucha

                               Site where Bucha cyclist shot filmed by Ukrainians upon recapture
On his approach, the cyclist appeared to slow down before reaching the junction. It is not clear if he knew where the Russian vehicles were positioned as he turned the corner. The Russian vehicle fired on him almost immediately.

In recent days, Ukraine's forces have re-entered Bucha and other towns in the surrounding area after pushing Russia's forces back, away from the capital of Kyiv.

In the days since, a horrific picture of death and destruction has begun to emerge from the town. But while images and videos have largely shown the aftermath of the Russian occupation - with bodies strewn throughout the town - this drone footage appears to be one of the few videos showing Russian forces actively attacking Ukrainian civilians.

Release of the footage came after satellite images of Bucha showed bodies lining the streets more than two weeks ago - debunking Russian claims that the massacre was staged by Kyiv in order to frame its troops for war crimes.

The images taken of Bucha on March 19 show dark objects strewn along a road - which match the exact positions where the rotting corpses of civilians were found by Ukrainian soldiers who recaptured the area from Russian forces at the weekend.

Russian forces were in control of the city at the time, strongly suggesting that it was Putin's men - and not Kyiv's - who carried out the killings.