Ukraine forces enter Lyman, Kyiv says Russian troops surrounded
60Seconds
2022-10-01
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Russia announced on Saturday that its troops had abandoned their bastion of Lyman in Ukraine's east for fear of being encircled, and the leader of Chechnya, a close Kremlin ally, suggested that Moscow consider using a low-yield nuclear weapon in response.
The town's surrender represents a big blow for Moscow, which declared the annexation of the Donetsk area, along with three other regions, at a ceremony on Friday that Kyiv and the West called a farce.
"Allied forces were withdrawn from the settlement of ... Lyman to more advantageous lines because of the creation of the threat of encirclement," Russia's Ministry of Defence said.
The statement ended hours of official silence from Moscow after Kyiv first said it had surrounded thousands of Russian troops in the area and then that its forces were inside the town of Lyman.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya who describes himself as a footsoldier of Putin, said he was unable to remain silent after Moscow abandoned the territory, which the Kremlin had proclaimed to be part of Russia just a day earlier.
"In my personal opinion, more drastic measures should be taken, right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons," Kadyrov wrote on Telegram in a post in which he derided a Russian general.
The Russian defence ministry's statement made no mention of its troops being encircled.
"The Russian grouping in the area of Lyman is surrounded," Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern forces, said hours earlier.
He said that Russia had had 5,000 to 5,500 troops at Lyman but the number of encircled troops could be lower because of casualties.
"We're already in Lyman, but there are battles," the spokesperson said on television.
A video posted by the president's chief of staff showed two grinning Ukrainian soldiers taping the yellow-and-blue national flag on the welcome sign at the town's entrance in the Donetsk region's north.
Source:
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-encircles-russian-forces-around-lyman-stronghold-military-2022-10-01/
The town's surrender represents a big blow for Moscow, which declared the annexation of the Donetsk area, along with three other regions, at a ceremony on Friday that Kyiv and the West called a farce.
"Allied forces were withdrawn from the settlement of ... Lyman to more advantageous lines because of the creation of the threat of encirclement," Russia's Ministry of Defence said.
The statement ended hours of official silence from Moscow after Kyiv first said it had surrounded thousands of Russian troops in the area and then that its forces were inside the town of Lyman.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya who describes himself as a footsoldier of Putin, said he was unable to remain silent after Moscow abandoned the territory, which the Kremlin had proclaimed to be part of Russia just a day earlier.
"In my personal opinion, more drastic measures should be taken, right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons," Kadyrov wrote on Telegram in a post in which he derided a Russian general.
The Russian defence ministry's statement made no mention of its troops being encircled.
"The Russian grouping in the area of Lyman is surrounded," Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern forces, said hours earlier.
He said that Russia had had 5,000 to 5,500 troops at Lyman but the number of encircled troops could be lower because of casualties.
"We're already in Lyman, but there are battles," the spokesperson said on television.
A video posted by the president's chief of staff showed two grinning Ukrainian soldiers taping the yellow-and-blue national flag on the welcome sign at the town's entrance in the Donetsk region's north.
Source:
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-encircles-russian-forces-around-lyman-stronghold-military-2022-10-01/
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