Dramatic video footage emerged on Sunday (May 14) of Russian troops fleeing the battle for Bakhmut in Ukraine.

The clip reveals Vladimir Putin's forces scrambling to security via woodland after being attacked from above.

The seemingly hasty retreat comes greater than eight months after battle started within the jap metropolis.

And a second movie, recorded on the identical day, in the meantime, reveals Russian closely armoured autos (HAVs) pulling out of the realm.

It sparked Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin, who seems to have turn into extra irate with every video this week, to warn of an impending "tragedy" for his nation.

READ MORE: Ukraine humiliates Wagner's Prigozhin in scathing advance rundown

The once-loyal henchman, who labelled Putin an 'a**gap' in a video rant final week over the dearth of ammunition being provided to his fighters in Bakhmut, tore into the Defence Ministry.

"The flanks are crumbling and the frontline is failing," Prigozhin started.

"And Defence Ministry's attempts to smooth over the situation somehow in the media space are leading – and will lead – to a global tragedy for Russia. So stop lying immediately.

"If you have run away, arrange new strains of defence. But what you have skilled for that defence is just not able to holding that defence. They are merely nobodies. And so what has been occurring just lately and what I've been warning about for a very long time, is coming to go. And it is resulting in an amazing tragedy for our nation."

It comes two days after the mercenary leader made fun of Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister for the Kremlin, while acknowledging that the situation on the flanks is worse than expected.

He said: "The scenario on the flanks is shaping up in accordance with the worst predicted state of affairs."

Prigozhin then jokingly requested that Shoigu should come to Bakhmut, before mocking his civilian background in engineering.

He asked Shoigu: "Given your tremendous lengthy expertise, please are you able to come to Bakhmut?"