VLADIMIR Putin’s flailing forces have pulled back from a key stronghold as Ukraine has recaptured a huge 600 square km of land with a brutal counter offensive.

Mad Vlad’s desperate lads are dramatically retreating from the strategic Kinburn Spit, a peninsula south of Mykolaiv that juts out from Ukraine into the Black Sea.

Russian forces are fleeing the region due to the huge intensity of Ukrainian drone strikes, according to the pro-Ukrainian Atesh group, in a humiliation for ageing tyrant Putin.

It comes as Ukraine’s top military ​commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said that his forces had recaptured more than 600 square km of territory so far this year.

In May alone, Ukraine grabbed more than 100 square km more territory than it lost, a sign that the tide is turning on Putin’s meatgrinder army after years of slow progress from Russia.

And a prominent Russian military expert has expressed fear that Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces could soon gain a foothold in Crimea, which would be a yet more devastating blow to Putin.

But a humiliated Russian leader could be dangerous – the Kremlin has reaffirmed its readiness to launch nukes “at any time”.

Both Russia and Belarus stand ready to “use all available means, including nuclear weapons” to deter “any potential aggressor”, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galusin.

It comes as Zelensky invited King Charles for a state visit to Ukraine, which could take place in just months.

The King had private talks with the Ukrainian president on Monday afternoon, after reiterating his support for the country earlier this year.

In London, Zelensky declined to speak about “future operations in Crimea” but admitted seeking to create fuel shortages to force a Russian retreat.

The pro-Ukrainian Atesh group said: “The actions of the Special Operations Unit (SOU) to cut off supply routes have forced the occupiers to urgently evacuate from the Kinburn Peninsula.”

“Units of the 337th regiment are leaving their positions – supply has been completely halted. Deliveries of ammunition, fuel, and food have ceased.”

The group added that the Russians have suffered “significant personnel losses” and were “unable to shoot down” Ukrainian drones.

The Kinburn Spit gives Putin a forward observation and attack position at the mouth of the Black Sea’s Dnipro-Bug estuary.

Losing the spit would be a huge blow to defending Russian-occupied Crimea and would improve Ukraine’s control of the approaches to Mykolaiv and the north-western Black Sea.

Putin’s pathetic retreat comes as Russian military expert Lt-Gen Evgeny Buzhinsky warned Ukraine is preparing a “large-scale airborne operation” to grab a swathe of Crimea.

And an ammunition depot was blitzed at Belovskoye in Belgorod region, as huge blasts rocked the area.

Locals claimed that Putin’s troops had accidentally bombed their own ammunition dump.

Ukraine struck a drone production hub at Protasovo airfield with a diving drone triggering a huge explosion.

But Russia lashed out with attacks on Ukrainian second city Kharkiv – yet again striking civilians.

Three people were killed and 15 wounded, including two children.

It comes after the raving Russian president has ordered his two eldest daughters to move into his bunker palace with him out of fear of assassination attempts.

Paranoid Putin has also ordered urgent checks on Russia‘s complex web of surveillance cameras, fearing it could be hacked by his enemies and betray his movements.

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