Putin's commanders have begun quietly fleeing Crimea as they try to sell their homes and get their families back to Russia, Ukrainian spies have claimed. Russian FSB agents and those working for the occupying government are also trying to get off the peninsula, which has been occupied by Kremlin forces since 2014. Officials have been spooked by the rapid advance of Ukrainian forces across the north of the country in recent days, the military intelligence service added, amid reports that soldiers are withdrawing from Melitopol - just 70 miles away.