Russian troops retreated out of yet another Ukrainian city located on the frontline of the war this past Saturday as Ukraine’s combatants encircled Lyman in the Donetsk Oblast.
This flight comes just a day in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin annexing massive sections of Ukraine in the wake of what most are calling a sham referendum that signaled support for the regions to join Russia, but as of now, Ukraine can take steps to secure another victory for its advance.
“In connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement, allied troops were withdrawn from the settlement of [Lyman] to more advantageous lines,” explained Russia’s Defense Ministry. The Russian government also attempted to blame the withdrawal on Ukraine utilizing “Western-made artillery and intelligence from North Atlantic alliance countries [NATO].”
Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, lauded the recent news via a speech issued Saturday evening. “The Ukrainian flag is already in Lyman, Donetsk region. Fighting is still going on there. But there is no trace of any pseudo-referendum there,” he stated.
This past Friday, Zelensky stated that his country had put through an expedited application for membership in NATO. “Ukraine was and remains a leader in negotiation efforts. It was our state that always offered Russia to reach an agreement on coexistence on equal, honest, decent and fair terms,” expressed Zelensky via a video message. “It is obvious that this is impossible with this Russian president. He does not know what dignity and honesty are. Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but already with another president of Russia.”
This retreat from Russia is most likely going to end up making the Kremlin angry in the wake of the government trying to obfuscate the issues stemming from the troop fallback last month. Russian officials have openly admitted that their operation in Ukraine has ground to a halt, making the claim that the reason is to “avoid casualties among civilians.” It has been officially reported the over 5,600 civilians have died due to the effects of the war, and that there are severe allegations of Russia intentionally going after civilians.
Ramzan Kadyrov, an official out of Russia and the leader of Chechnya, cried out for “more drastic measures” to be utilized as troops ran from Lyman, as reported by the Associated Press. He also made the claim that one Russian general was being “covered up for by higher-up leaders in the General Staff.”
