Putin ‘leaves 20,000 of his soldiers stranded’ in tactical withdrawal as Ukraine blows up key bridges

VLADIMIR Putin has left 20,000 Russian troops stranded in a tactical withdrawal after Kyiv blew up key bridges in the country's southern city of Kherson, a Ukrainian official has claimed.

The soldiers are believed to be cut off from their battalion and key supply lines following a Ukrainian missile strike in the region overnight.

Vitaly Kim, governor of Mykolaiv district, claimed an entire command of Mad Vlad's troops has bailed from the west bank of the Dnipro river in southern Ukraine to escape a counterattack by President Zelensky's men.

He said that left 20,000 or more Russian fighters were abandoned by their commanders and are isolated from supply lines after a vital bridge was destroyed by a Ukrainian missiles yesterday.

Posting on his Telegram channel, Kim said he "felt just a bit sorry - but not much - for the stupid orcs" left abandoned on the right bank of the Dnipro, using a derogative term for Russian soldiers.

"All of the commanders are moving to the other side."

Moscow captured the southern city of Kherson early on in the war when its forced launched an attack from the annexed Crimean Peninsula and linked up with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Military analysts claimed at the time that Mad Vlad ordered his troops to proceed westward towards the port city of Odesa and Moldova where they could then create a land bridge and cut off Ukraine from the Black Sea.

Kherson was the only region capital to fall in the invasion with troops finally halted east in neighbouring Mykolaiv, leaving pockets of Russian troops sandwiched between frontlines, the Dnipro river to the west and the Black Sea to the south.

The botched withdrawal comes as a video of explosions on Sunday circulated online suggesting the strategically-important Antonovksy bridge in Kherson had been targeted again on Saturday night, according to the Telegraph.

Ukraine also claims to have hit another bridge on the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam, making it impassable for heavy vehicles.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said the two main road bridges to the Russian-controlled area of Kherson were now "probably out of use for the purposes of substantial military resupply".

Regional official Sergiy Khlan said the only way for Russian troops to escape now was by using pontoons to cross the river but that it "cannot totally meet their needs".

The destruction of the bridges could spell the end of Russian soldiers west of the Dnipro, think tank the Institute for the Study of War has claimed.

An analysis said that "Russian forces on the west bank of the Dnipro will likely lose the ability to defend themselves against even limited Ukrainian counterattacks".

It added: "Bringing ammunition, fuel, and heavy equipment sufficient for offensive or even large-scale defensive operations across pontoon ferries or by air is impractical if not impossible."

It comes as Moscow again threatened to use nuclear missiles on London and Washington.

Last week, Moscow’s largest state-controlled TV channel gave air time to Yury Kot, the ranting leader of pro-Kremlin Ukrainian movement Parus.

He claimed it was Kyiv and the West jeopardising nuclear safety by allowing conflict to continue around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station - and urged Putin to be ready to fire nukes against the West.

“We all understand very well that [Ukraine and the West] are concocting a fictional reality,” he said on Channel One.

“We all understand very well that [Ukraine and the West] are concocting a fictional reality,” he said on Channel One.

“We are dealing with the reality.

“We need to tell Ukraine and its supporting countries - Britain and America foremost…and make it clear.

“If Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is damaged and a disaster occurs, two missiles will immediately strike your decision-making centres.

“One in Washington, the other in London.

“Nuclear ones. And that’s it….there won't be any more talk.”