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| REUTERS/Jorge Silva |
Ukrainian troops are moving to capture the Russian-held eastern town of Lyman, threatening a new setback for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's campaign in the Donbas as he prepares to declare the region part of Russia.
The capture of the town in the north of Donetsk region could pave the way for Ukraine to make inroads into the adjacent Luhansk province, foiling Putin's goal of seizing all of the industrial Donbas region declared after his forces failed to subdue the entire country in February, military analysts said.
The regions are among four chunks of eastern and southern Ukrainian territory that Putin is expected on Friday to declare Russian-annexed land after what Kyiv and Western countries say were bogus referendums staged at gunpoint. read more
Putin has said Moscow could use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory if necessary. Kyiv has said it won't be swayed by such threats and will press ahead with its plans to drive all Russian forces out of Ukraine. read more
Lyman has served for months as a logistics and transport hub anchoring Russian operations in Donetsk region's north and its capture would be Kyiv's biggest gain since a lightning counter-offensive retook swathes of Kharkiv region this month.
The window is narrowing for Ukraine to make major advances before winter sets in, slowing down operations and giving Russia, which has declared a partial mobilisation, more time to fortify its lines. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Photographs by Serhii Korovayny for The WSJ |
Russian forces around a crucial eastern Ukrainian city faced defeat Friday, even as their president announced he was annexing the territory they were losing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin formally claimed four areas of Ukraine as part of Russia on Friday in an escalation of the war. His announcement on state television and subsequent government-orchestrated celebrations were broadcast at the same time that Ukrainian troops were encircling thousands of Russian soldiers in the strategic town of Lyman, a logistical center for Russia’s operations in one of the four regions Moscow is claiming.
Russia doesn’t fully occupy any of those areas. Russian-backed authorities held a series of referendums on joining Russia in the territories. Ukraine and Western governments have rejected the votes as a sham exercise intended to confer legitimacy on Russia’s military occupation of parts of Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, a Russian missile strike killed at least 25 civilians, Ukrainian officials said, as Ukrainian forces made military gains in the east, in the hours before Russia declared its annexation of four regions of Ukraine on Friday.
Russian forces fired 16 S-300 missiles at areas near the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia, including a gathering point for Ukrainians preparing to cross the front line into Russian-occupied territory, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At least 50 people were also wounded in the attack, according to Andriy Yermak, the president’s chief of staff. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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