A Russian zoo has sent feathers flying after sending a pair of peacocks to the frontline in Ukraine to “brighten up the lives” of troops.

Lipetsk Zoo, according to Russian media, sent the birds to what, using official Kremlin terminology, they described as the “area of the special military operation”.

One bizarre video circulating online shows a Russian trooper in camo gear and a death’s head face mask as he cradles an assault rifle.

Behind him in a cage one of the peacocks can be seen walking anxiously up and down as he holds up two leaflets about the birds.

The soldier tells the camera (in Russian): “We would like to express our deep gratitude for the humanitarian assistance provided.”

And one photo apparently shows the birds being unloaded from a Russian army vehicle surrounded by military supplies.

Shamed zoo officials later deleted all their social media posts in the face of overwhelming anger from animal lovers.

But in one, copied by local media before they did, they said: “The beauty of the birds will inspire the guys in the tough combat environment, bringing them a bit of joy.

“This is not an advertisement for the zoo, but a gift from the bottom of our hearts.

“We hope that the beauty of these birds will brighten up the soldiers’ combat routine.”

The zoo apparently claimed they had been responding to a request from Russian troops.

They said: “As soon as the request from the fighters was received, the zoo immediately decided to transfer the birds to them.”

But the bird-brained scheme infuriated social media users.

One reportedly said: “Shame on a zoo that sends exotic birds to a war zone!”

And another animal lover said: “Animals, unlike people, cannot stand up for themselves.”

While a third sceptic said: “Why are there peacocks there? Do they lay eggs?”

And more cynically joking about censorship said: “Open vacancies at the Lipetsk Zoo: remover of comments about peacocks.”

The zoo later claimed it had deleted comments because of “Ukrainian bots” who they said were writing “insults against the president [Vladimir Putin]”, according to Russian media.