Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that the eastern city of Lyman, located in one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russia has annexed is “completely free” of Russian troops.
“From 12:30 pm (10:30 am in Lisbon) Lyman is completely free. Thanks to our army!” Zelensky said in a short video published on social networks and quoted by the AFP.
The city of Lyman is located in the Donetsk region, one of the four territories of Ukraine annexed by Russia. It was an important logistics center for the Russians to support troops in that region.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin referred to the imminent capture of Lyman by Ukrainian troops in an interview on Saturday, claim to be “very excited” about this scenario, as the city played a very important role in the supply lines with which Russia moved troops and equipment to the south and west of Ukrainian territory. “Without these routes it will be more difficult, it is a dilemma for the Russians to move forward,” said Lloyd Austin, quoted by the British newspaper The Guardian.
Russia announced the withdrawal of its troops from Lyman on Saturday, shortly after the Ukrainian army said it had surrounded thousands of Russian soldiers in the area.
“Threatened with siege, Allied forces were withdrawn from Lyman to more favorable positions,” Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement, referring to a post where Moscow-controlled troops had deployed about 5,000 troops.
In southern Ukraine, Zelensky’s hometown of Krivyi Rih was hit on Sunday by a Russian drone strike that hit a school, Dnipropetrovsk region governor Valentyn Reznichenko said.
In recent weeks, Russia has begun using Iranian-made drones to attack targets in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Air Force said today it shot down five Iranian-made drones in the south of the country overnight, while two managed to get past air defenses.
Information about military activities released by the two warring parties cannot be easily verified by independent sources.
Source: DN
