Putin the 'meddling colonel': Russian president is making tactical decisions as Ukrainian forces drive his army back to the border and top Kremlin propagandist says offensive in Eastern Ukraine has FAILED
Putin is said to be dictating the troop movements at a level normally overseen by colonels
Western military sources said he could be managing as few as 700 Russian troops at one give time
Russian lieutenant-colonel is accused of shooting dead multiple injured troops on the battlefield
Army intelligence troops captured by Ukraine say they saw the killings of five of their comrades
Ukraine has accused Russia of failing to take back its war dead, leaving piles of corpses
Ukrainian troops have reached the Russian border to the north of Kharkiv, pushing back Kremlin forces
Video also shows nuclear-capable Iskander missiles moving towards Finland amid growing NATO row
By Katie Feehan and Willl Stewart and Jack Newman and Chris Pleasance and Tom Brown For Mailonline
Published: 00:14 BST, 17 May 2022 | Updated: 07:44 BST, 17 May 2022
Vladimir Putin is dictating on-the-ground troop movements in Ukraine as his army falters, according to Western military sources.
General Valery Gerasimov is also said to be making similar tactical decisions, micro-managing the war in minute detail which would normally be overseen by a colonel.
'We think Putin and Gerasimov are involved in tactical decision-making at a level we would normally expect to be taken by a colonel or a brigadier', said a Western military source, according to The Guardian.
The same source said that Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs) had been 'battered', adding: 'If Putin is doing the job of a brigade commander' then 'he could be delving into a force that could be as small as 700 to 1,000 soldiers'.
Putin's soldiers have so far failed to achieve their military objectives in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have been attempting to mount a breakthrough in order to encircle Ukrainian troops in the Donbas region.
Officials believe Putin's decision to take personal control of on-the-ground troop movements could be contributing to the military failures.
Radio jamming has forced Moscow to send more battalion leaders to the front line in order to communicate with their troops, only for Ukrainians to take advantage by killing Russia's generals - with 12 confirmed dead.
The news comes after Ukrainian soldiers became the country's first to reach the Russian border after retaking Kharkiv from occupation.
Ukraine’s ministry of defence said on social media that the 227th Battalion of the 127th Brigade of its military had reached the border with Russia, marking the closest Ukrainian soldiers have come to their neighbour since it was invaded on February 24.
On Monday, one of Putin's top propagandists declared Russia's offensive in the Donbas region has failed.
Russian intelligence officer and commander Igor Girkin took to his Telegram channel to summarise the situation for Russian forces in Ukraine and said their intention was 'so obvious' that Ukraine Armed Forces have been able to resist.
Meanwhile, incredible photos have been shared of the inside of Azovstal steel works - which has been under siege in Mariupol for months - after wounded Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated.
Girkin, who has spoken frankly about the difficulties facing Putin's forces in recent weeks as their invasion of Ukraine drags on, shared a detailed summary of their progress, or lack thereof, on his Telegram channel, adding that the failure to make headway was not a surprise.
He wrote: 'With regret I must say that the widely advertised [...] operation to defeat the Donetsk group of the enemy has FAILED.
'In more than two weeks of fierce hostilities (which have cost both sides huge losses) only tactical successes have been reached. Not a single large locality has been liberated.'
Girkin said that perhaps some 'local tactical successes' could be achieved before a counter-offensive by Ukraine forces but said it was unlikely the Donbas region would be 'fully liberated', adding: 'It's likely the UAF will not even be pushed away from the outskirts of Donetsk. And I cannot say that this result is unexpected for me. Quite the opposite.'
It comes as Russia said on Monday that it had agreed to an evacuation effort from the bunkers below the besieged plant in Mariupol to a medical facility in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk.
Ukrainian soldiers reached the Russian border for the first time after pushing back invaders in Kharkiv
Around 264 Ukrainian troops were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant surrounded by Russian forces
The last defenders, including many who were wounded, had been holding out for weeks in the bunkers
A Russian lieutenant-colonel was accused of personally shooting dead his own troops as they lay injured
Finland and Sweden secured security guarantees from the UK and US to come to their defence if attacked
Russian state media threatened to place more nuclear weapons in its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad