CNN reporter realises he’s crouching over a live grenade in Ukraine while on air

A CNN reporter examining a column of destroyed Russian vehicles on a highway in Ukraine found himself in a precarious situation when he realised a live grenade was lying on the ground next to him.

The footage captures CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance, dressed in a combat vest and helmet, wandering through the mangled metal remains of Russian vehicles that had been obliterated by Ukrainian forces.

At one point he realises that a grenade is sitting directly next to where he is standing, prompting him to take a step back.

“Oh actually -- I was crouching down right by a grenade. I didn’t see that. Let’s move away from that,” he says in the footage.

As Mr Chance walks through the wreckage he points out a Russian APC that had been destroyed, its tires melted completely, with only the wheel-rims remaining intact.

Beyond the APC was the remains of a truck, whose bed has been completely destroyed.

He continues down the road, finding ammunition casing and unexploded pineapple grenades littering the asphalt.

The only item he finds that seems to have escaped annihilation was, curiously, a teddy bear. It is unclear if it was brought with the Russian soldiers or was left at the scene following the attack.

It is unclear based on current reporting what destroyed the column, but Ukraine's military does have drones capable of launching missiles as well as American anti-tank weapons.

On Monday, officials from Russia and Ukraine met near the nation's border with Belarus to hold the first round of talks that will hopefully result in an end to hostilities.

Those talks came as Russia continued its attack on Ukraine, reportedly killing dozens people with rockets fired at the city of Kharkiv. Russia has continued to push into the country on multiple fronts, but has been faced with strong Ukrainian resistance.

Outside the country, the EU and the US have continued to levy sanctions against Russia. After an initial round of targeted sanctions, the US moved to enact broader sanctions on Monday, targeting Russia's Central Bank.

That move prevents Americans from doing any business with the bank and freezes the bank's assets within the US.

The sanctions have resulted in a crumbling of the Russian ruble, dropping its value around 25 per cent to a record low when compared to the US dollar. Moscow's stock exchange closed on Monday as a result, and the country's central bank more than doubled interest rates to 20 per cent.

Solidarity against Russia from Western nations prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to put his nuclear forces into "special combat readiness," causing extreme concern across the globe.

Joe Biden has maintained that the US will not be sending troops to Ukraine or engage in any direct conflict with Russia.

The US ambassador to the United Nations assured Mr Putin that Russia was under "no threat" and said that his move was "another escalatory and unnecessary step that threatens us all".