Russian officer pulls door handle off during Putin's inspection

He’s not known for his sense of humour, but not even Vladimir Putin could stifle laughter when one of his military leaders accidentally ripped the handle off an elite military vehicle in front of the Russian hard man.

President Putin was inspecting a number of military cars outside his home in Sochi in front of the media when he struggled to open one of the car’s doors.

Instead of leaving his leader stranded, lieutenant-general Alexander Shevchenko stepped in.

Rather than simply shimming the door handle, Mr Shevchenko pulled with such force it flew off in his hand to the shock of fellow officers.

With a smirk and a slow burn of embarrassment spreading across his face, Mr Shevchenko casually tossed the handle through the car’s open window.

“Good,” Putin said before laughing with a group of officers.

Amid the unlikely laughter, Mr Shevchenko groped in vain to open the car using the inside door handle. He instead was forced to walk to the back passenger side of the car, where he casually opened one of the doors.

Russian news site Life News reports that the vehicles are built with automatic locks that don’t open until you start the car.

The fleet of military vehicles included a Russian-made UAZ Patriot pick-up truck that is equipped with heavy machine guns.