Ukrainian man kneels in front of Russian tank after trying to stop it with his bare hands

The man knelt in front of the Russian tank

A brave Ukrainian man has been filmed trying to block a convoy of several Russian tanks with just his hands as the invasion of the country continued.

The video was filmed outside Bakhmach – a city located roughly at the midpoint between Kyiv and the border with Russia.

It starts with the man lying face down on the front end of the first tank as the convoy is travelling down a street.

He jumps off the vehicle and, while still facing it, leans against the front of it with his arms outstretched until the tank comes to a complete stop.

The man then kneels on the ground and stays there for a few seconds until a number of people approach him from two directions.

A person then leads him a short distance away from the tank, while another person – who is also standing in front of the vehicle – brings it to another stop.

A number of people can be seen shouting and gesturing at the Russian troops, while others film the incident on their phones.

The man stood in front of a Russian tank (Twitter/Screenshot)

The driver of the tank then accelerates and the second person is moved out of the way. The convoy passes in clouds of exhaust smoke.

The video was shared on social media on Saturday, the third day of conflict unleashed by Russia after Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine on Thursday.

Heavy street fighting in Kharkiv – Ukraine’s second-largest city – has been reported after Russian troops encroached in the early hours of Sunday morning. Civilians are being asked to not leave their homes.

A satellite image shows the effects of shelling in open fields along Soborna Street in the northeast suburbs of Kharkiv (via REUTERS)

Russian troops in Kharkiv blew up a gas pipeline, according to Ukrainian officials that shared a video showing a fireball rising to form a large mushroom cloud.

Near Vasylkiv, south of the capital of Kyiv, an oil depot was set on fire by a Russian ballistic missile, officials said.

The flames of the oil depot attack could be seen from Kyiv and the fighting had prevented emergency services from being able to extinguish the blaze, according to reports.

The attacks on Ukraine’s energy supplies follows the Russian troops’ failure to capture the capital city Kyiv.

At least 240 Ukrainians have died in the conflict so far, according to the United Nations.

About 4,300 Russian soldiers have also died, according to Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar.

At least 200,000 Ukrainians have fled the country, with the vast majority of them having left for Poland.