Putin’s humiliated troops flee key occupied city as tyrant’s Chechen warlord says Russia should use NUKES to retaliate

VLADIMIR Putin’s humiliated troops have fled a major battleground in eastern Ukraine as the tyrant’s Chechen warlord said Russia should now unleash nukes. After being encircled by fierce Ukrainian forces, Russia pulled its struggling troops out from the key city of Lyman in a huge victory for Ukraine. Jack Hill/The Times, The Sunday Times.Russia pulled its troops out from the city of Lyman in a massive victory for Ukraine[/caption] ReutersA woman walks along a bridge as smoke rises in the background in the city of Lyman[/caption] Russia admitted its troops had abandoned their bastion of Lyman to avoid being encircled by Ukraine’s army. “Allied forces were withdrawn from the settlement of… Lyman to more advantageous lines because of the creation of the threat of encirclement,” Russia’s Ministry of Defence said. And in a chilling message, Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Russia’s Chechen region, said Moscow should now consider using a low-yield nuclear weapon in Ukraine after the major new defeat. He wrote: “In my personal opinion, more drastic measures should be taken, right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons.” Read more on the Ukraine war MAD VLAD Putin humiliated as Russian troops forced out of Lyman by 'encirclement threat' FINAL VIDEO Drafted Russian rapper takes his own life telling fans 'I'm not ready to kill' Russia has the world’s largest atomic arsenal – including low-yield tactical nuclear weapons designed to be deployed against opposing armies. Other top Putin allies, including former president Dmitry Medvedev, have suggested Russia may need to resort to nuclear weapons – but Kadyrov’s call was the most urgent and explicit. It comes after hours of silence from Moscow after Kyiv said it had surrounded thousands of Russian troops in the area and its forces were inside the town. In a video posted by the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, two grinning Ukrainian soldiers taped the yellow-and-blue national flag on to the welcome sign at the town’s entrance. Most read in News LVIV RAT RAGE I'm a Ukrainian who had affair with Brit dad…he's dumped me so I'm going BACK TO THE POLLS Date of next general election REVEALED - and when it is might surprise you JEREMY CLARKSON Every time climate change crops up in an Attenborough doc I have a beer LIZ TRUSS Bills are high & people are scared but trust me - the Government is on your side TRAGIC LOSS Soldier, 18, who walked alongside Queen's coffin during funeral found dead LOTTO NONSENSE My relative claimed he'd won £171m on EuroMillions but it was all a scam “October 1. We’re unfurling our state flag and establishing it on our land. Lyman will be Ukraine,” one of the soldiers said, standing on the bonnet of a military vehicle. The fall of Lyman is a major setback for Moscow after Putin declared four regions in Ukraine as part of Russia on Friday – including Donetsk, where Lyman is located. He said Moscow would defend the stolen lands it seized “with all our strength and all our means”. But Ukraine and its Western allies branded Russia’s move as illegal – and Kyiv vowed to continue liberating its land. Russia used Lyman as a logistics and transport hub for its operations in the north of the Donetsk region. And its fall is Ukraine’s biggest battlefield gain since a lightning counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region last month. A Ukrainian military spokesperson said the capture of Lyman would allow Kyiv to advance into the Luhansk region. “Lyman is important because it is the next step towards the liberation of the Ukrainian Donbas,” he said. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY… The Sun is your go to destination for the best celebrity news, football news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Download our fantastic, new and improved free App for the best ever Sun Online experience. For iPhone click here, for Android click here.  Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.