'WELCOME TO HELL'
Desperate Putin forced to deploy notorious Wagner mercenaries to face Ukrainian troops marching towards nuclear station
Footage shows Ukrainian forces launching a daring surprise attack on Russia
DESPERATE Vladimir Putin has deployed his notorious Wagner troops as Ukraine pushes forward to seize a key nuke power station.
The ruthless mercenaries have been drafted in to bolster Russia's failing forces after a surprise Ukrainian attack in the Kursk region.
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Reports suggest Volodymyr Zelensky’s troops have now pushed 20 miles into Russia - marking a remarkable counter-invasion.
It leaves just eight miles to the town of Lgov - which is 17 miles from Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
It's thought Kyiv is attempting to seize or surround the key facility - and blackmail Russia into surrendering Europe's biggest nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia, which Putin has held since the start of the war.
Officials in Kursk have declared a state of emergency after Ukraine made the shock invasion - with mass evacuations now underway.
Wagner was headed by former Putin close crony Yevgeny Progozhin - who was allegedly assassinated on Kremlin orders in a plane crash a year ago.
It came after he led a daring coup against tyrant's regime.
The Wagner army - including tens of thousands of jail convicts freed and pardoned by Putin - had been used in cannon fodder frontline roles fighting against Ukrainians.
After Prigozhin's death, some Wagner fighters were sent to support Putin in African conflicts while others joined the Russian army or private mercenary groups backing the Kremlin.
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Pro-war blogger Yegor Guzenko, known by his alias Thirteen, posted: "Didn’t I say there would be some good news? So here you go — Wagner Group fighters are returning to Russia."
Guzenko posted a video on Telegram allegedly showing a military unit in camouflage and wearing Wagner army patches in an army vehicle - apparently heading to the Russian–Ukrainian border.
A voice can be heard saying: "Go to Kursk to f**k up the mother******r [Ukrainians]... welcome to hell. We'll be there soon.
"It’s gonna be hot, but we’ve got fire extinguishers."
News outlet Mash said Wagner fighters were travelling to the Kursk region "from distant lands, just as they did in 2022" - suggesting a return from Africa.
Some 10,000 Wagner fighters are closer to home in neighbouring Belarus, and there are breakaway groups from the original Wagner army that could be deployed.
Pro-war Telegram channel Dva Mayora announced: "Wagner is going in the Kursk direction."
In one video, Putin demanded “courage” from the hard-pressed governor of Kursk region, Alexey Smirnov - who is dealing with the consequences of Putin's failure to halt the Ukrainian incursion.
Putin said: "Your professional knowledge, skills and experience, which you certainly have, are not enough here.
"Today’s situation requires from you a certain courage and concentration on the ways of solving these complex, difficult, extraordinary tasks now facing all branches and all levels of government, including you and your team."
Putin announced a one-off £90 payment for families from Kursk region.
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Hundreds of Ukrainian troops along with dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles launched the bold attack on Tuesday night.
Footage posted of the attacks on social media showed fighter jets screaming low over a highway, destroyed Russian helicopters, and burnt-out trucks.
The valiant eastern European nation also destroyed two Russian attack helicopters, a Ka-52 "Alligator" and a Mi-28 "Havoc" downed by an FPV drone.
Putin lashed out on Wednesday, raging against Ukraine's "large-scale provocation" in the border region of Kursk.
Russian military boss General Valery Gerasimov was forced to face the despot in a meeting and admit how a significant portion of territory in the region had been lost.
The Institute for the Study of War says Kyiv has advanced by a whopping six miles in what's been classed as the most serious border incursion of the war.
A close Putin crony, ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, blasted Ukraine for the incursion - which shocked Moscow - and demanded Russia respond by crushing Ukraine.
It was now “necessary” to “mercilessly defeat and destroy the enemy”, and stage a total invasion, he said.
On Thursday, Ukraine bizarrely dropped leaflets inside Russia with naked women on in a bid to get Putin's troops to surrender - or risk death.
Social media users were left dumbfounded after pics of "motivational leaflets" scattered over Kursk emerged featuring a soldier and a naked woman.
The message on the bizarre nude leaflets reportedly translate to: "The wife of your brigade commander is waiting for you in the banya."
Banya is a traditional Russian steam sauna.
The odd message could be implying that as ordinary soldiers are dying for Putin, commanders and their families are enjoying themselves away from the frontline.
The other with the dead soldier on apparently says: "Soldier of the 25th brigade.
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"Choose life. Surrender."
The leaflets also give instructions on "how to surrender" as well as contact details in an attempt to make further advances into the region.
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Why does Ukraine launch cross-border strikes on Russia?
By James Halpin, Foreign News Reporter
Ukraine has attacked Russia itself a number of times since Russia invaded their neighbour in February 2022.
The strikes have included both ground assaults with tanks and troops, and also by using long-range missiles.
In March, Ukraine-supporting rebels from the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL), Siberian Battalion (SB) and Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) launched a two-pronged assault.
In May last year, the Free Russia Legion attacked the country as they sought to "build a free Russia".
None of the incursions have so far been able to hold any land, with the invaders being beaten back or retreating.
Ultimately, they seek to stretch Russian forces, strike Russia in unprotected areas, and destroy critical infrastructure like logistics hubs, ammunition depots, or disrupt Russian events.