‘Russian troops go into a tactical retreat’ as ballistic missiles rain down in Ukraine from Belarus

Interfax-Ukraine news agency has reported that Russian troops have entered “a tactical retreat” near Kyiv and Kharkiv, Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to the President’s Office head, said.

At around 3pm on Sunday afternoon Belarus fired a barrage of short range ballistic missiles into Ukraine.

As peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are to take place on the Belarus and Ukrainian border Iskander ballistic missiles were launched.

The Iskander missiles can also carry cluster warheads, fuel-air explosives, bunker-busters, and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) warheads are among the conventional warheads it can carry, which also includes nuclear warheads.

In an update Arestovych said at a briefing, “Part of the enemy was defeated [near Kyiv], part goes north and puts up defenses at the lines of 15-20 km from the Ukrainian capital so that our artillery does not get there.

“This means that the Russian troops went into a tactical retreat, at least for certain areas, which is good news,”

However according to the advisor said such a tactical retreat shows that the plan of the Russian army to seize Kyiv has failed.

“The general situation shows that the enemy is exhausted. It threw the remaining combat-ready units at Kyiv in order to take its outskirts and declare some kind of victory. And also at Kharkiv.

“But in Kharkiv it was surrounded and defeated. Same thing in Kyiv. This is a tactical retreat shows that this plan of theirs failed too,” Arestovych added.

However in a grim warning the British Commons Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood MP warned on Sunday that Vladimir Putin could, in the “worst-case scenario” could launch low yield tactical nuclear weapons if his forces fail to enter Kyiv.

Ellwood who is also a former British Army officer said Western allies needed to think now what their response would be if Putin were to use unconventional nuclear forces.

“He could certainly use other weapons systems which haven’t been really tested or that we aren’t really used to,” he warned the BBC.

“Chemical weapons, the worst case scenario would be low yield tactical nuclear weapons as well. We need to ask those questions as to what we would do.”

Putin threatened Ukraine on Sunday with a chilling message with a “final solution” and he will be remembered as ‘Adolf Hitler of the current century’

The Russian President Vladimir Putin will put an end to the war with Ukraine with a “final solution” strategy in a desperate attempt to secure some kind of victory.

Following high tensions with the West over Ukraine Vladimir Putin has placed “Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces on high alert” on Sunday afternoon.