Vladimir Putin has faced a grueling setback over the weekend and a close ally has called on the Russian leader to resort to “drastic measures” amid his defeat in eastern Ukraine.

Close ally and friend Ramzon Kadyrov accused the local commander in Lyman that he was defeated because he was “nowhere near” to his troops.

Kadyrov said, Colonel General Sergei Lapin “deployed mobilised fighters of the LPR [Luhansk People’s Republic] and other units on all fronts near Lyman, but did not provide them with the necessary communications, coordination and ammunition supplies.”

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Kadyrov has told Putin that it is now the time to use tactical nuclear weapons to stave off defeat in Ukraine.

Kadyrov wrote on Telegram, “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.”

The former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said that Moscow’s threats must be taken seriously.

He warned that Russia has nuclear weaponry as “war-fighting weapons, whereas in the West we see them solely as weapons of escalation and therefore we wouldn’t use them.”

Smith told The Telegraph, “I wouldn’t underestimate the possibility that he could use these weapons, that’s not just an empty threat.”Drastic measures’ have been called for amid Russia’s defeat in eastern Ukraine which would turn the tide of war

Vladimir Putin has faced a gruelling setback over the weekend and a close ally has called on the Russian leader to resort to “drastic measures” amid his defeat in eastern Ukraine.

Close ally and friend Ramzon Kadyrov accused the local commander in Lyman that he was defeated because he was “nowhere near” to his troops.

Kadyrov said, Colonel General Sergei Lapin “deployed mobilised fighters of the LPR [Luhansk People’s Republic] and other units on all fronts near Lyman, but did not provide them with the necessary communications, coordination and ammunition supplies.”

Kadyrov has told Putin that it is now the time to use tactical nuclear weapons to stave off defeat in Ukraine.

Kadyrov wrote on Telegram, “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.”

The former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said that Moscow’s threats must be taken seriously.

He warned that Russia has nuclear weaponry as “war-fighting weapons, whereas in the West we see them solely as weapons of escalation and therefore we wouldn’t use them.”

Smith told The Telegraph, “I wouldn’t underestimate the possibility that he could use these weapons, that’s not just an empty threat.”

The Russian Defence Ministry announced at around 2:20pm on Saturday, UK time, that all 5,500 troops have now fled the city of Lyman in eastern Ukraine “in connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement.”

The Ministry said, “In connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement, allied troops were withdrawn from the settlement of Krasny Liman to more advantageous lines,” this will be seen as another major loss to Putin.

On Friday Putin signed the decree in the Kremlin making the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine were formally announced as part of the Russian Federation, and threatened a nuclear response if there is any attack in those regions.