THIS is the dramatic moment one of Putin's weeping soldiers begged Russians not to fight as Ukrainian killer drones whizzed overhead.
The footage of the disillusioned assault soldier poised to surrender to Ukraine on the frontline indicates Kyiv is stalling the advance of Mad Vlad's forces.
New supplies of Western weapons and ammunition are believed to have boosted Ukrainian defences notably in the Kharkiv region, but also in Donbas.
The testimony of dehydrated Russian fighter Oleg Vesnin - call sign Fiksa from the 83rd Rifle Assault Brigade - indicates Putin’s positions are strewn with dead and “mutilated”.
He recorded a video warning other Russians not to sign contracts to fight, speaking in a gap between his hideout being targeted by buzzing Ukrainian bomber drones.
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“[I make this appeal] while there are no drones,” he said in footage shown on Russian war channels.
“We’re running, I don’t know where. My unit [is part of the] 83rd Rifle Assault Brigade. We have no more strength.
“[We are here for] three days without food and drink, and no [military] support.
“[I] took on the responsibility as commander, since the commander was wounded.”
The stricken commander - named Myasnik or Butcher - lies beside him.
Vesnin cried: “I have no strength, I’m very thirsty.
“The third - he bled to death.”
He told how “here are also men lying behind us," adding: “I saw five 300 [wounded], four 200 [dead].
“Everyone is mutilated. I don’t know what to do next - my legs can’t move and I want to live.”
Vesnin said he and those still alive will surrender - because they had “no more choice”, with no ammunition left.
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“And most of all I want to drink,” he said.
He begged: “If someone sees this [video], don’t even think about [signing] any contracts [to fight for Russia in the war].”
He then heard another Ukrainian drone in the sky and halted his recording.
“That's it, something is buzzing again.”
The slowing and stalling of the much-vaunted Russian advance is a blow to Putin who earlier boasted of gains his forces had made.
But Vlad's forces managed to lauch new deadly attacks on Ukraine, killing at least nine people on Wednesday.
It came a day before the leaders of some of Ukraine's biggest backers were to discuss how to slow Moscow's offensive.
Ukrainian authorities said that along with the nine killed, 29 others, including five children, were wounded when Russian missiles hit an apartment block in Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown.
Zelenskyy said the strike has again proven that "Ukraine, together with its partners, must strengthen its air defences," something that he has repeatedly appealed for with Ukraine's Western partners.
The United States has agreed to send another Patriot missile system, two US officials said late Tuesday.
"Modern air defence systems are capable of providing maximum protection of people, our cities, and our positions," Zelenskyy said.
"And we need as many of them as possible."
Kyivs outgunned and outnumbered forces are battling to hold back the bigger Russian army, which is trying to exploit Ukrainian vulnerabilities.
MAJOR WAR EFFORT
Ukraine has been short of troops, ammunition and air defences in recent months as the Kremlin's forces try to cripple the national power supply and punch through the front line in eastern parts of the country.
Ukraine will need to weather the Russian onslaught through the summer, military analysts say.
And in the meantime they need to train more soldiers, build fortifications and hope that the provision of Western military aid picks up speed so that in 2025 Kyiv may be able to mount its own offensive.
Several diplomatic events over the next few days are aimed at how to help Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion or how to bring about an end to the war.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden and the other Group of Seven leaders will gather in Italy for their annual summit to discuss ways to help Ukraine, including how to divert more frozen Russian assets to Kyiv's defense.
Separately, the Biden administration on Wednesday said it had broadened sanctions against Russia by targeting companies that help Moscow's war effort and raising the stakes for foreign financial institutions that work with sanctioned Russian entities.
The more than 300 new sanctions are largely aimed at deterring individuals and companies in countries such as China, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey from helping Moscow circumvent Western blocks on obtaining key technology.
They also threaten foreign financial institutions with sanctions if they do business with almost any sanctioned Russian entity, underscoring the US view that the Kremlin has pivoted the Russian economy on to a war footing.
Biden and Zelenskyy will also sign a bilateral security agreement between the US and Ukraine on Thursday, when they meet on the G7 summit's sidelines, the White House said.
While the G7 meets in Italy, defense chiefs from the U.S., Europe and other nations will meet Thursday in Brussels for their monthly meeting on Ukraines security needs. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host the event.
And this weekend, representatives of nearly 90 countries and organisations, half from Europe, are expected to attend a summit in Switzerland aimed at charting a path to peace between Russia and Ukraine, though Russia won't be attending.
Both sides in Europes biggest conflict since World War II have been reaching out to friendly nations to help keep their armed forces supplied.
The war has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides, including more than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations.
While Ukraine has looked to Western countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned to nations such as Iran and North Korea for help.
Fighting along the roughly 620-mile front line has in recent months focused on the partly occupied Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces are trying to reach the key hilltop city of Chasiv Yar and other strategic hubs.
RISING DEATH TOLL
Vladimir Putin suffered 1,270 casualties in 24 hours, Ukraine's Defence Ministry announced earlier this month, marking Russia's deadliest-ever day in its two-year-old meatgrinder war with Ukraine.
But the figure was quickly topped as the defence ministry claimed Ukraine's military had "eliminated" 1,290 more Russians on June 4.
The total number of Putin's troops killed since the tyrant invaded Ukraine is now well above 500,000, according to the ministry.
Ukrainian forces are now said to have killed 512,420 Russian troops and destroyed 7,794 tanks, 15,020 armoured combat vehicles, and 13,345 artillery pieces since the start of the war.
Fifteen of the tanks, 18 of the combat vehicles, and 65 of the artillery systems were eliminated yesterday - as were 27 drones, 69 vehicles and fuel tanks, three air defence systems, and 12 special equipment pieces.
Kyiv says Russian casualty figures have been above 1,000 per day since Moscow launched a new offensive in Kharkiv on May 10.
The surprise offensive has led to Russia's biggest territorial gains in 18 months, The Guardian reports.
