Vladimir Putin sacks a General after serving only 17 days in the job amid devastating defeats which has led to Ukrainian forces recapture occupied territory.

Over the weekend Ukrainian forces took the key cities of Kupiansk and Izyum in a victorious counteroffensive killing hundreds of Russian troops with thousands seen “fleeing” the front line.

Ukrainian Armed Forces seized more occupied land in five days which took Russia many months to achieve.

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) Ukrainian forces recaptured more occupied territory in just five days than what Russia managed to achieve since April.

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ISW analysts wrote, “Ukrainian forces have penetrated Russian lines to a depth of up to 70 kilometres (43 miles) in some places and captured over 3,000 square kilometres (1,100 sq. miles) of territory in the past five days since September 6.

“This is more territory than Russian forces have captured in all their operations since April.”

Lieutenant General Berdnikov had replaced Lieutenant General Sychevy, who himself had only started the job on 26 August.

Ukraine’s GRU intelligence unit broke the news on its Telegram channel on Monday, they wrote, “The leadership of the Western Group of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was removed from command.”

The GRU added, “With the aim of restoring the group’s ‘management stability’, it will be headed by the commander of the ‘Centre’ Army Group, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Lapin.”

The said that the operational staff of the Centre Army Group has now moved from Luhansk to the command post of the Western Group.

They added, “Today, the personnel decision regarding the further service of Lieutenant General Roman Berdnikov is under consideration.

“He was appointed to the position of commander of the Western Armed Forces on August 26, 2022, replacing Lieutenant General Sychevy (he was in the position for three weeks).”

Taras Berezovets, a former national security adviser turned press officer for the Bohun brigade of Ukraine’s special forces, said Russian forces were forced to “panic and flee” as a result of the successful disinformation campaign.

He said, “[It] was a big special disinformation operation.

“[Russia] thought it would be in the south and moved their equipment.

“Then, instead of the south, the offensive happened where they least expected, and this caused them to panic and flee.”

Meanwhile a rebellion in Moscow is gathering pace as local government officials in in the capital have written to Putin asking him to “resign from his post.”

Domestic discontent has been brewing across Russia for many months over the war in Ukraine and Putin has been accused of sending the “country back into the Cold War era.”