Ukraine news LATEST: Vladimir Putin’s ‘insolent’ forces FLEEING war-ravaged Kherson as despot’s top officers go AWOL

A NEW report claims Putin’s top officers are escaping the war-torn city of Kherson amid fears of a counter-offensive in the region. Vladimir Putin‘s invasion has been undermined in recent days by strategic failures on land and at sea and a Ukrainian counter-move is highly anticipated In Kherson, the first city to fall in Putin’s brutal war, life has become a living nightmare – with reports of residents electrocuted for displaying Ukrainain flags, a shortage of food & medicine and accounts of people “being taken away in the night”. But Sky News says it has been told by Ukrainian military sources that Russian commanders in Kherson city have secretly escaped from the area – after Ukraine recently blew up three bridges near the city. A journalist inside the city, using the name Dmytro, told the publication: “To be honest, if maybe two generals or five colonels left Kherson, it’s not very noticeable. But the ordinary soldiers, the Russian occupiers, have begun to behave very insolently. “It’s clear that they have absolutely no discipline. This indirectly confirms that the top officers must have escaped. But no one saw it, because it is impossible to see. How they got to the other side [of the Dnipro river] must have been some kind of secret operation.” Russia has denied the claims, which Sky says it gathered from multiple sources over the course of several months. Meanwhile, Dmytro has also told how the behaviour of the invading forces has “changed” – perhaps suggesting the recent attacks in Crimea have instilled the fear of a Ukrainian counter-offensive. “There is a checkpoint at almost every intersection,” the journalist continued. “All cars and buses are checked. Everyone is asked for their passports. They tear down garage doors and gates. They are looking for weapons, they are looking for some equipment. They are very afraid of partisans.” Read our Ukraine-Russia blog below for the latest updates…