Russia withdrew troops overnight from an eastern Ukrainian city it had been using as a frontline hub after being surrounded by Ukrainian forces. The Ukrainian counteroffensive’s most recent win has humiliated and infuriated the Kremlin.
The withdrawal of Russia from Lyman complicated its day-old, widely denounced statement that it had annexed four areas of Ukraine, one of which includes Lyman.
By seizing the city, Ukrainian forces may advance further into territory that Moscow now illegitimately claims as its own.
The conflict arises at a critical juncture in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s conflict. This week, Putin increased his threats of using nuclear force and deployed his most extreme, anti-Western language to date in response to Ukrainian victories on the battlefield, which he characterises as a US-orchestrated attempt to destroy Russia.
In the struggle to defend Lyman, Russian soldiers, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, inflicted damage on Ukrainian forces, but they withdrew to more advantageous positions because they were outnumbered.
The air force of Kyiv claimed to have entered Lyman, and the chief of staff of the Ukrainian president shared images of a Ukrainian flag being raised outside of the town.
In the Russian front line’s ground communications and logistics, Lyman had played a crucial role.
It is situated in the Donetsk area, close to the border with the Luhansk region, both of which Russia annexed after a local “referendum” was staged under duress, 160 kilometres southeast of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
In a counteroffensive that started in September, Ukrainian forces have recaptured major portions of the country. They have ejected Russian troops from the Kharkiv region and moved across the Oskil River to the east.
Some Russian leaders immediately criticised Moscow for leaving Lyman.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, attributed the retreat on one general being “covered for by higher-up leaders in the General Staff,” without providing any supporting evidence. “More extreme measures,” he demanded.
On the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia has occupied, the emergency situation at an airstrip was notified by Sevastopol’s mayor.
Beachgoers in the Russian-held resort could witness explosions and enormous billows of smoke in the distance.
At the Belbek airstrip, according to authorities, a plane rolled off the runway while carrying ammunition, which allegedly caught fire.
In 2014, Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula on the Black Sea known as Crimea.
As Moscow proceeded quickly with its most recent annexation and commanded a large mobilisation at home to strengthen its military, Russian bombardments have became more intense recently. Many Russian men have left the nation as a result of the unpopularity of the call-up at home.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, and his forces have sworn to continue fighting to free the regions Putin claimed he had seized as well as other Russian-occupied territories.
Authorities in Ukraine claimed that Russian military recently attacked two relief convoys, killing scores of civilians.
Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv area, reported this week’s attack on a truck attempting to evacuate the Kupiansk district resulted in the deaths of 24 civilians. “Cruelty that can’t be justified,” he referred to it as. He claimed that among the victims were a pregnant woman and 13 children.
Syniehubov posted on Telegram that “the Russians fired at civilians virtually at point-blank range.”
The convoy that was attacked was captured on camera by the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU for short. Burned bodies were found within the truck bed of at least one truck that appeared to have been blown up.
The front of the caravan featured another burning vehicle. Bodies seemed to be riddled with bullet wounds and were lying on the side of the road or inside moving vehicles.
Although the Russian Defense Ministry claimed its rockets damaged Ukrainian military sites nearby, it has not responded to claims that it deliberately targeted evacuating people. Although they have left most of the Kharkiv region, Russian troops have not stopped shelling the area.
Additionally, 30 people were killed and 88 were injured in a Russian hit in the regional seat of Zaporizhzhia, according to Ukrainian officials.
Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles “very definitely” hit a humanitarian convoy there, according to the British Defense Ministry. Ukrainian military were blamed by Russian-installed officials in Zaporizhzhia, although they provided no supporting data.
After being surrounded, Russia withdraws its forces from a crucial city.
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