The President of Ukraine announced that the strategic city of Lyman in Donetsk is “completely free”.
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the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyyannounced this Sunday 2 that the strategic city of Lyman is located in Donestk, one of the areas annexed by the Russiais ‘entirely free’ from the troops of Moscow. “At 12:30 (6:30 GMT) Lyman is completely free. Thank you to our military,” the president said in a video posted to social media. The announcement comes two days after Vladimir Putin signed the annexation of four partially Russianoccupied territories: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson. Celebrating the advance of his troops, Zelenskyy said that next week “new Ukrainian flags will be hoisted in Donbass,” in the east of the country where the Ukrainian army is striking back. Since early September, Ukraine has made good gains in the sevenmonth war. During the announcement this Sunday, the Ukrainian leader sent a message to Russian soldiers and authorities: “Until they solve the problem of who started it all, who unleashed this senseless war against Ukraine, they will die one by one and become scapegoats.” because they don’t admit that this war is a historic mistake for Russia”. On Saturday 1st, the Ukrainian authorities had already reported the capture of Lyman. The Russians, on the other hand, said it was a withdrawal of “more favorable lines”. Lyman’s loss is a major setback for Moscow.
The site, which has been under Russian control since May, has been functioning as a logistics and transport hub for months, anchoring Russian operations in the north of the region. His capture is Kiev’s secondbiggest gain since a Blitz counteroffensive retook areas in the Kharkiv region this month. Given Russia’s military defeats, analysts fear President Putin will use nuclear weapons to defend his territory. Following the withdrawal of Russian forces from Lyman, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadirov said Moscow should consider using “lowlevel” nuclear weapons. On the battlefield, the Ukrainian troops appear to have regained strength with the release of Lyman. “I am optimistic and very motivated. I see the activity on the front lines and the areas we are retaking,” said a 33yearold Ukrainian soldier, who identified himself as “Humo.”
*With information from AFP