Horrifying new footage appears to show two Russian soldiers being beaten for threatening to complain to a senior commander about assault missions on Vladimir Putin's meat grinder frontline.

Stripped naked except for their underwear, with their hands tied over their heads, an officer was seen repeatedly striking the soldiers with a stick. 

Ukrainian military commentator Yuriy Butusov claimed the Russian soldiers 'flatly refused to participate in suicidal assaults and to die for Putin's agenda'.

The foul-mouthed officer rants in the video, which has not yet been verified, that the soldiers aimed to complain about their frontline treatment to a commander called Moskayev.

'Have you decided to file a complaint against Moskayev?

'You don't want to go anywhere, do you?'

Apparently referring to their refusal to go into certain death missions on the frontline, he said: 'They don't want to go anywhere, for ****'s sake. Right?

'Let's go, let's go. Do you realise what sort of trouble Moskayev's going to get into because of you lot?

'[Because] you've decided to write a complaint.'

Repeated videos have shown the brutal tactics Russian commanders use to punish troops and enforce discipline on a cannon fodder frontline where tens of thousands die each month in the war against Ukraine.

In May, a disturbing video showed a soldier wrapped in cling film, suspended from a tree and beaten by his commander.

The footage, shared on a Telegram channel, appears to show the serviceman hanging upside down in a forest while a commander repeatedly slaps him across the face.

His entire body has been bound in layers of cling film, forming a cocoon-like shell, as he spins helplessly from the tree.

Meanwhile, fellow soldiers can be heard laughing and encouraging the abuse as the suspended man groans in pain.

As Russian commanders beat their soldiers into submission, Ukraine has been fighting its enemy's shadow fleet, taking out 19 Russian tankers last night.  

For the past ten days, Vladimir Putin's fuel carriers have been obliterated in the Azov Sea.

The change of tack caught Russian forces by surprise, using sea drones to strike 17 oil tankers and two gas tankers among the toll of 19.

The latest strikes came as the country marked Ukrainian Statehood Day, honouring the country's more than 1,000-year state tradition, countering Putin's claims that Ukraine is part of Russia.

It means the Ukrainians have hit up to 136 vessels since the start of last week causing massive damage to Putin's ability to supply the annexed tourist region Crimea.

A tanker hit earlier in the Sea of Azov was seen burning, and damage was revealed on dry cargo vessel Chelsea-6.

A day earlier, Ukraine destroyed 205ft-long Izumrud - an FSB security service patrol ship in the Black Sea.

Putin's forces responded to the humiliating decimation of his fleet with massive strikes on port facilities in Ukraine. 

At least three were killed in Odesa in missile and drone attacks.

The Russian defence ministry said it had targeted the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk, striking fuel storage tanks and drone production facilities.

'In addition, four naval vessels delivering cargo for the Ukrainian Armed Forces were hit.'

A huge fire was blazing from a Russian strike at Pivdennyi port in the Odesa region.

Ukraine said Russia had hit two civilian vessels under the flags of Tanzania and Liberia, with one captain killed.

A vessel flying the flag of the Marshall Islands was hit with two killed.

Two dry cargo ships were hit in the Dnipro-Bug port in the Mykolaiv region said Russian sources.