Russian troops forced to retreat as Kyiv makes lightning advance

RUSSIAN forces in southern Ukraine were last night on the brink of collapse after they retreated in the face of one of the fastest Ukrainian advances of the war so far.

Ukrainian troops who initially broke through Russian lines on the western bank of the Dnipro river on Monday have now rolled into several more strategic villages.

Prominent Russian military bloggers said a “regrouping” order had been given to avoid encirclement in the northern part of the Kherson region.

The significant territorial losses suffered by Russian forces appeared to be confirmed in maps used in the background of Moscow’s ministry of defence in its daily briefing, although it did not directly address the changes to the front line.

It comes after weeks of Ukraine seeking to degrade Russia’s forces in the Kherson bridgehead by using Us-provided Himars rocket systems to attack the two bridges supplying them, part of a long-awaited counter-offensive to retake the vital southern city.

Although the attacks initially made slow progress, early gains were reported this week along the bank of the Dnipro, with Ukrainian forces on Monday pressing south in the direction of the riverside town of Dudchany.

Advances accelerated yesterday after the Russians apparently decided not to fight back.

“Due to the breakthrough of the armed forces of Ukraine in the Berislav sector and the threat of physical encirclement, a decision was made to withdraw the Russian group of forces from Dudchany and Daydov Brod,” Rybar, a widely read but unofficial Russian propaganda account, reported.

Ukraine covered as much as 15 miles in the space of two days and said more than 50 settlements and approximately 3,500 citizens had been freed from Russian occupation.

Western officials attributed much of Kyiv’s sudden success to its forces’ ability to penetrate Russia’s so-called “Ooda Loop”, a well-known military technique.

It was developed by American military strategist John Boyd, and stands for “observe, orientate, decide and act”.

“The Ukrainian armed forces commanders in the south and east are throwing problems at the Russian chain of command faster than the Russians can effectively respond,” an official said yesterday as the southern offensive appeared to make gains.

Kirill Stremousov, the Moscowappointed deputy head of the Kherson region, told residents there was “no reason to panic”.

“Our artillery and fighter jets are hitting enemy forces that enter the sovereign territory of Russia,” he said. “Yes, you can hear explosions at a distance, but they’re infrequent.”

The apparent retreat came as Russia’s Federation Council yesterday ratified the formal annexation of four occupied territories in Ukraine, including the southern Kherson region.

A PALATIAL villa on the Italian Riviera said to be under an ancient Egyptian curse has been confiscated from its Russian oligarch owner.

Perched on a cliff near the exclusive resort of Portofino, Villa Altachiara is one of the most imposing properties on Italy’s Riviera coastline.

Owned by Eduard Yurevich Khudaynatov, a Russian tycoon who is close to Vladimir Putin and was included on a European Union blacklist, the villa was among assets worth €57billion (£50billion) that were confiscated by the Italian authorities.

The mansion was built in 1874 by Henry Herbert, the 4th Earl of Carnarvon, whose son George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, financed the British archaeologist Howard Carter in his quest for the tomb of Tutankhamun.

The aristocrat’s main residence was Highclere Castle, famously used in the filming of Downton Abbey. Superstitious locals believe the discovery of the boy pharaoh’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings has brought bad luck on owners of the villa ever since.

Just months after Carter discovered the tomb in 1922, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon died from an infected mosquito bite in a Cairo hotel. His nephew died a few months later after falling down a flight of steps at the Riviera property.

One of its more recent owners, an Italian Gucci model and heiress called Countess Francesca Vacca Agusta, also died after falling into the sea in an accident in 2001.

After her death, it took several years to sell the villa, with a dozen prospective buyers coming and going before Mr Khudaynatov bought it in 2015 for €25 million, a significant reduction on the asking price of €34 million.