Ukraine news LIVE: Vladimir Putin’s own officials call for despot to be REMOVED as Russia suffers ‘significant’ setbacks

RUSSIAN officials are calling for Vladimir Putin to resign after the nation suffered ‘significant’ setbacks after a Ukrainian counterattack. Ukrainian troops retook a large area of territory from Russia on Monday, pushing all the way back to the northeastern border in some places. It claims to have captured many Russian soldiers as part of a lightning advance that forced Moscow to make a hasty retreat from the Ukraine war. Now, according to the Independent, officials from St Petersburg’s Smolninsky District issued a statement calling for Vladimir Putin to be tried for treason. Dmitry Palyuga, one of the councillors, said: “We believe that the decision made by president Putin to start the special military operation is detrimental to the security of Russia and its citizens,” he said. In major humiliation for Putin, the Russian defence ministry admitted its troops have been forced to withdraw from the key city of Izium in the face of the onslaught. The city was a major Russian bastion in the area of northeastern Ukraine it still held and its defeat could mark a major turning point in the war. The swift fall of Izium in Kharkiv province is Moscow’s worst defeat since its troops were forced back from the capital Kyiv in March, and could prove a turning point in the six-month war. Read our Ukraine-Russia blog below for the latest updates…