After Russia’s annexation of occupied territories on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy celebrated the recapture of the strategically important city of Lyman in the east of the country. “The Ukrainian flag is already flying in Lyman in the Donetsk region,” he said in his daily video address on Saturday night. There is still fighting in the city, but there is no trace of the “pseudo-referendum”, according to Zelenskyj.
Russia only annexed the four regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhya after internationally unrecognized fake referendums on Friday – though they only partially control them. In the north of the Donetsk region, the Kremlin suffered another bitter military defeat with the loss of the strategically vital town of Lyman.
Ukrainian troops had taken the city in recent days. 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. It is unclear how many Russian soldiers were killed or captured.
‘They are looking for the perpetrators’
“By the way, they already started biting each other there: they are looking for the perpetrators and accusing some generals of failure,” Zelenskyy noted about the angry reactions from Moscow to the retreat in Lyman. It was only the first warning shot for all those who took part in President Vladimir Putin’s war. Until they solve the problem with the one who “started this pointless war against Ukraine for Russia, you will be killed one by one and made a scapegoat,” the 44-year-old predicted.
Zelenskyi promised his own compatriots that the army would liberate the entire country from Russian occupation, while the Russian leadership would ultimately have to answer for the illegal war. “The world will not allow a return to the days of colonial conquests, criminal annexations and total arbitrariness in place of international law,” he said.
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.
