On Friday, the leadership in Moscow celebrated the incorporation of four Ukrainian regions into the Russian Federation. On Saturday, the Russian army suffered what is probably the most bitter defeat in the war in Ukraine. The strategically important city of Lyman had to be abandoned. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, who had already heavily criticized the Russian military leadership after the collapse of the front in Kharkov, now called for the use of tactical nuclear weapons!
“While I do not know what the Ministry of Defense will report to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, I personally think that more drastic measures need to be taken now,” Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday. Among those steps, he says, are the imposition of martial law in Russia’s border regions and the use of tactical nuclear weapons. The Chechen leader also criticized the commander in charge, who “hidden in Luhansk, way too far away from his soldiers” while they were surrounded.
For weeks Lyman had fought bitterly. After the defeat in the northern Ukrainian region of Kharkov and their withdrawal from there, Russian troops tried to build a new front line along the rivers Oskil and Siverskyi Donets. Lyman as the closest city to the Kiev-occupied Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration was considered important in this regard. On the one hand to be able to launch attacks in the north of the Donbass region, on the other hand as a barrier for a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Raised Ukrainian flag
After heavy fighting, the city fell on Saturday. Ukrainian units hoisted the blue-and-yellow national flag in Lyman. The Ukrainians had previously seized the city. Attacks were launched from the west as well as from the north and south. The Russians’ only supply and withdrawal route to the east via Zarichne and Torske came under fire from Ukrainian artillery. Under these circumstances, it is unclear how many Russian soldiers died or were captured.
Thousands of Russian soldiers surrounded
According to their own statements, Ukrainian troops had at times surrounded as many as 5,000 Russian soldiers. That was the state of affairs on Saturday morning, Ukrainian head of Luhansk government Serhiy Hajdaj said. Russia took Lyman, where 20,000 people lived before the war broke out, in May. It was subsequently expanded into a military logistics and transportation center. After the Russian defeat at Kharkov, the city was considered so important that the Russian leadership wanted to keep it as long as possible, at least until the declaration of the annexation of the four Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhya.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
