Dramatic moment lightning Ukraine tank blitz punches hole in Russian defences in race to encircle key city Kherson

DRAMATIC video shows Ukrainian tanks storming towards occupied Kherson city – part of a lightning advance of 25 miles in a day. Kyiv’s forces smashed a hole through Russian defences, their biggest breakthrough in the south of the country since the war began. TwitterDramatic video shows Ukrainian tanks racing towards Kherson city[/caption] TwitterOne of the tanks opens fire at a Russian target[/caption] TwitterA lightning counter-attack advanced 25 miles in a day as Russian defences evaporated[/caption] Ukraine is making gains in the south after retaking a huge area in the east Counter-attacking forces recaptured a number of towns and villages on the banks of the Dnipro river on Monday. And at least 31 Russian tanks and one multiple rocket launcher were destroyed in the rout. Today the Ukrainian army was steaming on towards Kherson, the first major city to fall to Russia after the invasion. On Friday Vladimir Putin declared the whole of the Kherson region part of Russia along with three other regions following sham referendums. Read more on Ukraine BOMB’S AWAY Putin 'may test nuclear bomb on Ukraine border' after nuke train deployed FINAL VIDEO Drafted Russian rapper takes his own life telling fans 'I'm not ready to kill' But his puppet officials admitted they have lost control of more territory and troops are on the run. “The information is tense, let’s put it that way, because, yes there were indeed breakthroughs,” Vladimir Saldo, the Kremlin-installed regional leader, told Russian state television. “There’s a settlement called Dudchany, right along the Dnipro River, and right there, in that region, there was a breakthrough. There are settlements that are occupied by Ukrainian forces.” Dudchany is around 25 miles south of where the front stood just a day earlier, indicating one of the fastest advances of the war. Most read in News BLADE HORROR Boy, 14, arrested on suspicion of murder after teen found knifed to death MAULED Man arrested & 5 dogs destroyed after woman killed by out of control animals KILLER WALKS Wife-killer who buried body after babysitter affair FREE 8yrs into sentence DEVIL DOG HORROR Woman in her 60s mauled to death by out of control dogs inside house I'M LVIV-ING Ukrainian refugee flies home from UK after love-rat boyfriend dumped her SHOPPING CHAOS Shocking moment JD Sports security guard headbutts 'shoplifters' in brawl Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov admitted “numerically superior” Ukrainian tanks had “driven a deep wedge” south of Zolota Balka, a village that marked the previous front line on the Dnipro. He claimed the Russians had killed about 130 Ukrainian troops in that fighting. Ukraine said 500 Russians died yesterday. According to Mr Saldo, two Ukrainian battalions tried to reach the hydroelectric station at Nova Kakhovka, 44 miles east of Kherson city. A further push down the river – which bisects the country – could cut off supplies to 25,000 Russian soldiers. “The fact we have broken through the front means the Russian army has already lost the ability to attack, and today or tomorrow it could lose the ability to defend,” said military analyst Oleh Zhdanov. The collapse in the south was another humiliating blow for Putin after Ukraine retook the eastern city of Lyman at the weekend. Lyman fell to Russia after weeks of brutal fighting in the summer, and became a major logistics hub supplying the front line. But invaders dumped their weapons and fled hours after Putin held a rally in Moscow declaring the four annexed regions were “Russian for ever”. Ukraine’s defence ministry said around 5,000 men were encircled, and that almost all the Russian troops in Lyman had been “redeployed either into body bags or into captivity”. Further advances were reported in Luhansk region, which Russia has almost totally controlled since the spring. Reports claimed Ukrainians are moving towards the Russian-held towns of Kreminna and Svatove, and some pro-Kremlin bloggers suggested Russian forces have again been ordered to retreat. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the advances in his nightly address, without going into details. He said: “New population centres have been liberated in several regions. Heavy fighting is going on in several sectors of the front.” As troops retreated in Ukraine, chaos continued back in Russia over Putin’s call-up of at least 300,000 reservists. Tens of thousands of young Russian have fled over borders to escape the draft, and some have even resorted to self-inflicting horrific injuries. The internal conflict in Russia has reportedly signalled a turn in the tide for “cancer stricken” Putin who was described as “desperate” by Western intelligence experts. Read More on The Sun FLYING HIGH I'm a millionaire at 23 - I fly 2,500 miles just to get my DOG a £900 collar HOT STUFF Mum shares genius way she dries washing without a tumble dryer or annoying racks David Petraeus, who served as Director of the CIA under Barack Obama, told ABC: “It can still get worse for Putin and for Russia. “And even the use of tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield won’t change this at all.” A destroyed tank after Russia retreated from the eastern city of Izyum last monthGetty A Ukrainian flag flies over the liberated village of Dolyna in the Donetsk regionGetty Putin was humiliated hours after annexing four regions on FridayGetty APProtests have continued across Russia against a call-up of 300,000 men[/caption]