Russia says it has taken full control of Lyman in eastern Ukraine

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday (28) that the city of Lyman, in eastern Ukraine, is under the full control of Russian forces;

The claim comes a day after pro-Russian separatists from the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk said they had fully captured the city, a railway hub west of Sievierodonetsk.

Ukraine said on Friday that Russia had captured most of Lyman but that its forces were blocking an advance on Sloviansk, a nearby city to the southwest.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleskiy Arestovych said the well-organized attack on Lyman showed that Moscow’s military, which was driven out of the capital Kiev in March, was improving its tactics and operations.

Ukraine said on Friday that its forces may need to withdraw from their last pocket of resistance in Luhansk to avoid being captured by Russian troops who have made a rapid advance in the east, which has shifted the momentum of the three-way war. months.

A withdrawal could bring Russian President Vladimir Putin closer to his goal of fully capturing Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions. His troops gained ground in the two areas collectively known as the Donbas.