The Ukrainian army on Saturday marched into Lyman, a strategic city in eastern Ukraine in the Donetsk region, whose annexation by Moscow the previous day was strongly condemned by Kyiv and the West.
• Also read: Ukraine: 20 civilians found shot dead in their cars in Northeast
• Also read: Ukrainian army says it has ‘encircled’ several thousand Russian soldiers in Lyman in the east: agency
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed this important tactical victory as Lyman is a key rail junction, assuring that next week “new Ukrainian flags will fly over Donbass”, where Donetsk region is located.
Then he launched, addressing Russian soldiers and officials, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Until you all solve the problem of who started it all, who started this senseless war against Ukraine, you will be one after the other being killed and scapegoated by others. because you don’t admit that this war is a historic mistake for Russia”.
Kyiv also slammed the “illegal detention” of the chief of the Zaporizhia (south) nuclear power plant, who was arrested on Friday for reasons still unknown by Russia, which controls the site.
The capture of Lyman was announced in the afternoon: “Ukrainian air raid forces enter Lyman, Donetsk region,” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry announced on Twitter.
In a minute-long video accompanying the embassy, two Ukrainian soldiers can be seen waving and then hanging the light blue and yellow national flag next to the “Lyman” sign at the city’s entrance.
“Allied troops threatened with encirclement were withdrawn from Lyman to more favorable lines,” he said in a press release from the Russian Defense Ministry.
Earlier on Saturday, the Ukrainian army claimed to have “encircled” several thousand Russian soldiers in this city in the Donetsk region, which was annexed by Russia on Friday.
In response to the Russian withdrawal from the city, the leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, denounced the “nepotism” reigning in the Russian army and called on Moscow to use “low-power nuclear weapons” in Ukraine without “account.” of the +West American community+”.
International Court of Justice
Following Moscow’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions, Kyiv announced it would appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), urging it “to take up the case as soon as possible.”
On Friday evening, Vladimir Putin, for his part, ended a day of celebrations of the annexation of Ukrainian territories.
“Victory will be ours,” he said, microphone in hand, in front of several thousand people who had gathered for a concert on Moscow’s Red Square.
Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak quipped on Twitter on Saturday: “20 hours ago, Russian leaders chanted ‘Hurrah’ in Red Square over the annexation of new territories. (…) Reality can hurt when you live in an imaginary world”.
“Unlawful Detention”
Leaders of European Union countries issued a statement on Friday “rejecting” and “condemning” the “illegal annexation” of Ukraine’s four regions.
These annexations make “the end of the war much more difficult, almost impossible”, estimated the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, on Saturday and called on Europe to strengthen its military arsenal, “it is necessary, essential for survival”.
“Russia is losing” the war, “it has lost it morally and politically,” but “Ukraine has not won yet,” he said.
NATO condemned the “illegitimate” annexation, while the UN Security Council in New York considered a resolution condemning “pseudo-annexations” in Ukraine, which was immediately blocked by a Russian veto.
US President Joe Biden has vowed that the United States and its allies will not be “bullied” by Mr Putin.
On the ground, 24 civilians, including 13 children, were found dead, shot dead in their cars near Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine, Kharkiv region governor Oleg Synegoubov said on Saturday. AFP saw at least 11 dead at the site on Friday.
And according to Oleksandr Starukh, head of the military administration of the Zaporizhia region, the death toll from the strike targeting a queue of cars in the transit center of this southern Ukrainian city on Friday rose to 31 (30 civilians and one policeman). the death of an injured woman.
Ukraine also condemned the “illegal detention” of Zaporijia nuclear power plant director general Igor Murachov, who was arrested on Friday for an as yet unknown reason by Russia, which controls the site.
According to Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom, Mr Murachov was detained by a “Russian patrol” around 4pm while en route from the plant to the Russian-controlled city of Ernogodar.
In Germany, a spokesman for the company that operates the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which connects Russia with Germany, told AFP that it no longer leaks under the Baltic Sea.
Nord Stream 1 and 2 infrastructure, built to transport Russian gas to Europe, was damaged by underwater explosions off a Danish island in the Baltic Sea on Monday, causing intense boiling.
Also on Saturday, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht paid a surprise visit to Ukraine, her first since the Russian invasion began.
Ms. Lambrecht traveled to the port city of Odessa in southern Ukraine, where she notably met her Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksiï Reznikov.
Ukrainian leaders have been urging the federal government for several weeks to authorize the delivery of modern main battle tanks that could make a difference against Russian troops.