Ukrainian forces are advancing in the south and may have made a major breakthrough of Russian lines as they also take more territory in the east.
Kiev’s troops are attacking on the west bank of the Dnipro River and have taken the town of Zolota Balka, it was reported Monday, amid claims from pro-Kremlin sources that troops had withdrawn as far as Dudchany, some 15 miles south.
It comes after the key Donetsk town of Lyman was taken by Ukrainian forces over the weekend, with Kiev commanders saying troops are now attacking the town of Kreminna in neighboring Luhansk.
That means Putin’s forces are now losing ground in three of the four Ukrainian regions he annexed last week – declaring that any attack on them would be counted as an attack on Russia and could trigger a nuclear response.
Ukrainian troops are filmed ambushing Russian armored vehicles with anti-tank launchers in Donetsk, destroying at least one of them
The wreckage of a Russian Tigr armored vehicle is left on a forest road (bottom center) in Donetsk while other fleets (top) are left behind after a Ukrainian ambush
Ukraine is also advancing in Kherson to the south, where troops are reported to have breached Russian lines on the Dnipro River (above).
Anton Gerashchenko, a senior adviser to the Ukrainian government, published footage online on Sunday allegedly from the town of Zolota Balka in the southern Kherson region, showing a flag-waving soldier posing with civilians.
The Institute for the Study of War, a respected US think tank, also reported overnight that Ukraine had taken the city, while President Zelenskyi also hailed Ukraine’s advances in the region.
However, pro-Russian military bloggers were far more pessimistic, claiming that Ukraine had made a major breakthrough at the front.
According to several reports, Putin’s troops were forced to retreat to the city of Dudchany – meaning the Ukrainians had advanced about 20 miles.
If confirmed, it would be one of the biggest breakthroughs in Kherson since Ukraine’s offensive began in early August, and a major blow to Putin’s men.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away to the northeast, Ukraine said it had taken the town of Torske — about seven miles east of the town of Lyman, which it liberated on Saturday.
Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesman for Ukraine’s Eastern Command, said troops are now attacking Russian units in Kreminna — in neighboring Luhansk.
Taking the city would open the door to an attack on the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysykhansk, which Russia took for weeks and with huge manpower over the summer.
Meanwhile, more attacks were reported further north, going east from the town of Borova towards Svatove, also located in Luhansk.
Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk — along with Zaporizhia — were annexed by Putin in a major speech at the Kremlin last week.
Ukraine liberated the Donetsk town of Lyman over the weekend and has since pushed into the nearby town of Torske
Kiev’s men have been rapidly moving into the Donbass region from Kharkiv since they launched a major counterattack there last month (pictured a Russian flag being removed in Donetsk).
A Ukrainian flag flies in a badly damaged residential area in the Donetsk village of Dolyna after it was retaken by Kiev’s forces
The despot declared that the regions would belong to Russia “forever,” while his spokesman said any attack on them would be counted as an attack on the mainland.
Kyiv has rejected the annexation, saying it is based on mock referendums that carry no international weight, and has vowed to continue liberating the occupied territories.
Ukraine’s Western backers have also vowed never to respect the land grab – the largest in Europe since World War II – and say it will not let up on arms supplies despite Putin’s threats to go nuclear.
It comes amid reports that the despot is increasingly making decisions in private, while members of Russia’s elite complain that he is acting rashly.
Fifteen officials, politicians and business leaders told The Telegraph that Putin refuses to discuss matters with his senior officials.
“There is a total lack of coordination. It’s a mess. Putin tells everyone something different,” a source close to the government said.
Discussing the flight of Russian troops to Ukraine, which prompted Putin to make his nuclear threats and recruit civilians into the military, the source added: “What did we do in Kharkiv? Nobody has a clue.’
Another government source painted a bleak picture of the impending war.
“The 300,000 [conscripts] are just a distraction. Now it’s partial, but then there will be mass “conscription” and then tactical nuclear weapons,” they said.
Putin is now more than seven months into what he planned as a days-long “military special operation” in Ukraine to retake control of the country.
After initially failing to take Kyiv in a lightning offensive at the beginning of the war, his offensive in eastern Donbass has also stalled.
Ukraine then launched two counterattacks in Kherson and Kharkiv in August, the first making slow but steady progress and the second making a major breakthrough that has left Russia behind.
Putin now appears to have largely abandoned his plans to advance, instead seeking to hold on to territory already conquered in hopes of attributing the war to the Russian people as a success.
Vladimir Putin has annexed four regions of Ukraine to Russia but is now losing ground in three of them over fears he could escalate to using a nuclear bomb
A burned-out Russian tank is seen on a hilltop in the Kharkiv region, which was recaptured by Russia in a counterattack last month
He has called up 300,000 military reserves to prop up his shaky front lines and declared occupied parts of Ukraine to be Russia.
He has also falsely accused NATO of plotting nuclear strikes against Russia and warned of retaliation with similar weapons.
At the same time, mysterious explosions last week destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea in what European leaders have dubbed sabotage.
Although no one but Ukraine has vocally blamed Moscow, private security officials have said there is little doubt the Kremlin was behind it.
Experts said the aim is to send a warning to the West that its critical underwater infrastructure – including pipes and cables – is vulnerable to attack.
Putin appears to be banking on acts of sabotage coupled with open threats breaking Western unity in Ukraine and disrupting the flow of money and arms currently flowing to Kyiv.
That would likely force the war into a stalemate from which Putin would hope to reach a ceasefire deal that would allow him to rebuild his forces and attack again — as he did after Ukraine’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 .