Putin’s 'General Armageddon' makes shock admission about ‘tense’ situation in first interview as Russians flee Kherson | The Sun

A RUTHLESS general who was promoted by Putin to lead a new wave of brutality in Ukraine has admitted the situation is "tense" for his troops.

In his first TV interview since taking charge, General Sergey Surovikin, renowned for his merciless manoeuvres, said Russia's army was under pressure from Ukraine's fierce forces in the east and south.

As Putin's troops continue to be driven back, fears are mounting that the humiliated tyrant will launch a nuclear show of force by detonating a deadly warhead over the Black Sea.

In the Russian-occupied southern city of Kherson, Surovikin admitted the situation was "not easy".

The Kremlin-installed chief told the state-owned Rossiya 24 news channel: "The situation in the area of the 'special military operation' can be described as tense.

"The enemy is deliberately striking infrastructure and residential buildings.

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“Further actions and plans regarding the city of Kherson will depend on the developing military-tactical situation, which is not easy.

"We will act consciously, in a timely manner, without ruling out difficult decision."

It wasn't immediately clear whether the general was hinting at an imminent Russian withdrawal from Kherson or a fresh round of airstrikes.

The key port city has been captured since the beginning of the war in February.

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But as Zelensky's men continue their lightning counteroffensive, they are closing in on the occupied Black Sea city and Russian troops have been driven back by up to 20 miles in the last few weeks.

Surovikin said Russian civilians are now being "resettled" from four towns on the river as Ukraine advances.

Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy head of the region, claimed Ukrainian forces "will shortly begin an offensive" and urged people to evacuate.

“The battle for Kherson will begin in the very near future. The civilian population is advised, if possible, to leave the area of the upcoming fierce hostilities," he said.

In a later post, he said the situation on the front was stable – but that civilians should still leave.

"Move as fast as possible, please, to the left bank," he said.

Civilians in Kherson have been receiving text messages from the Russian-installed administration telling them to get out of the city now, RIA news agency reported.

Russian lines are said to be dramatically collapsing in Ukraine – with a former NATO commander claiming it could be Russia's biggest military disaster for 100 years.

As Ukraine continues to blitz across the country, a senior US military official said it could retake Crimea – annexed by Russia in 2014 – in a three-pronged offensive in the south.

The first part of the route sees Ukrainian forces continue on their drive to liberate Kherson itself.

On the right of the front, the city of Mariupol, which fell to the Russians after a brutal battle for the Azovstal steel plant, is liberated in the scenario.

And in the centre, Ukrainian troops fan out across the Kherson Oblast – region – towards the Crimean peninsula.

"The recapture of Crimea by Ukraine is now a distinct possibility and can no longer be discounted," the US military official told The Telegraph.

"It is clear that Russia no longer has the ability or willpower to defend key positions."

As Putin grows increasingly desperate, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has dashed to Washington for crisis talks amid mounting concern that Mad Vlad’s finger is inching toward the nuke trigger.

The tyrant said last month that Moscow was ready to use nuclear weapons to defend its “territorial integrity”.

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And in a fresh bout of sabre-rattling on Tuesday, Putin’s spokesman warned that newly annexed parts of Ukraine could be defended by nuclear weapons.

Putin declared Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk as full-fledged regions of Russia after staging sham referendums in September – which were slammed by the West as illegal and coercive.

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