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FR
DEThe Defence Forces of Ukraine continue their counteroffensive actions and completely liberated the town of Lyman in the Donetsk region, as well as several nearby settlements, from the occupiers.
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine commented on the statement by the Russian command, claiming that the Russian troops allegedly successfully moved to “more advantageous positions.”
“We thank the ‘Ministry of Defense’ of the Russian Federation for successful cooperation in organising the ‘Izyum 2.0’ exercise. Almost all Russian troops deployed to Lyman were successfully redeployed either into body bags or into captivity. We have one question for you: Would you like a repeat?” reads the post of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on Twitter.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky also reacted to Lyman’s release in his daily address.
During this week, there were more Ukrainian flags in Donbas. It will be even more in a week… 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…Ukraine will return its own. Both in the east and in the south. And what they tried to annex now, and Crimea, which has been called annexed since 2014. Our flag will be everywhere,” the Head of State said.
He added that all those who committed the crime of aggression against independent Ukraine would be punished inevitably.
At the same time, British intelligence draws attention to the strategic, tactical, and political significance of the liberation of the town of Lyman by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is stated in the operational report of October 2, published on Twitter.
“Lyman was likely being defended by undermanned elements of Russia’s Western and Central Military Districts as well as contingents of voluntarily mobilised reservists. The force probably experienced heavy casualties as it withdrew along the only road out of the town still in Russian hands,” reads the report.
It is underscored that Lyman is important operationally because it commands a key road crossing over the Siversky Donets River.
Moreover, Russia’s withdrawal from Lyman also represents a significant political setback given that it is located within the Donetsk region, in a region Russia has attempted to illegally annex.
“The withdrawal has led to a further wave of public criticism of Russia’s military leadership by senior officials. Further losses of territory in illegally occupied territories will almost certainly lead to an intensification of this public criticism and increase the pressure on senior [Russian] commanders,” says the report.
Bohdan Marusyak
