On Saturday morning, Reuters news agency reported that Ukrainian forces have surrounded Russian forces in the strategically important city of Lyman.
There should be between 5,000-5,500 Russian soldiers trapped.
A video posted by President Zelensky’s Chief of Staff shows Ukrainian soldiers climbing a military vehicle bearing the Ukrainian flag.
– It’s October 1. We raise our flag and plant it on our soil. Lyman would be Ukrainian, he heard one of the soldiers say.
Next to it you see the city sign. The video must have been taken on the northern approach road to the city.
Liman is located in the northern part of Donetsk region, Southern Kharkiv regions, which Ukrainian forces recaptured earlier in September.
The city is an important railway center in eastern Ukraine. It has been controlled by Russia since this spring, and a larger Russian force has been deployed here.
About 5,500 Russian soldiers are said to be trapped in the city now.
He must have taken several villages
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address Friday that important victories were achieved in the battles against Russian forces in and around the city, without giving further details.
The Ukrainian newspaper Ukens speil quoted eastern forces spokesman Sergej Sherivatyj as saying that the Ukrainian forces have now liberated five villages in the area: Gambil, Novosilivka, Shandrigolovo, Drubishev, Stavki.
Cherevatyj indicates that the number of Russian soldiers ready to fight may have been lower than the original number.
– Someone tried to break through our barriers. Some give up. They have a lot of dead and wounded. The spokesman said the process is not over yet.
Several pro-Russian military bloggers as well as Ukrainian military sources mentioned the intense fighting going on around the city.
There were fierce battles around the Lyman railway junction in our spring. Ukrainian forces are now in the process of retaking the city, which the Russians captured in June.
Photo: Jorge Silva/Reuters
cut off supply routes
Early on Friday morning, there was the first report of a large Russian force being surrounded outside the city.
– Denis Pushlin told the Russian news agency “RIA Novosti” that the situation is still difficult, and our people are still steadfast with their last strength.
Puzhilin is the leader of the separatist region of the Donetsk region. He confirmed that Ukrainian government forces are regaining control of villages in the area, which took Russian forces weeks to gain control this spring.
All supply routes used by the Russians to supply ammunition and reinforcements were closed on Friday afternoon, according to Ukrainian military sources.
According to the Ukrainian governor of the neighboring Luhansk province, Serhiy Hajjaj, the Russian soldiers must have asked the Ukrainian authorities for a safe exit from Lyman, but they refused.
There is nothing more to include
Lt. Col. and professor at the Norwegian Defense Academy Tormod Heyer believes that Russian soldiers in and around Lyman may be completely alone.
– There could not have been large Russian forces in the rear, because they would have already come to the rescue of the main forces. What we see may mean that the Russian logistical support apparatus may be on the edge of the abyss. Heier tells NRK that Russian forces are generally exhausted, lacking well-comfort crews, weapons and spare parts.
Haier also does not believe that the Russians have the ability to “fill the hole” in the strategic Lyman region in the short term.
The fundamental problems of the Russians cannot be solved in the short term. We are talking about a lack of fighting spirit, a lack of effective coordination and strong leadership as well as a lack of more soldiers.
– The forces present are very few, they have missed a lot and are exhausted, as the presenter explains.
On June 6 of this year, the bridge to Lyman was destroyed.
Photo: ARIS MESSINIS / AFP
Tear up Russian defensive positions
If Ukraine succeeds in retaking the Lyman, it could pave the way for the country’s forces to advance further into Donetsk and the neighboring Luhansk Province.
– Lyman is important because the next step is the liberation of Ukraine’s Donbass (the Ukrainian Donbass region consists of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces) and an opportunity to create an additional bridge to Kremina and Sheferodonetsk, according to Ukrainian military spokesman Serge Sherevatyzh.
The Norwegian Lieutenant Colonel believed that the Ukrainians would advance in a controlled manner.
– Perhaps the Ukrainian forces are careful not to yawn too much. This is to ensure that there is no power vacuum behind the forces at the front. It is important to prevent looting and disturbance, says Turmod Heyer.
Ukrainian government forces shocked Russia with their lightning attack on the Kharkiv region at the beginning of September. Within a few days they retook large areas at the same time as the Russian front line collapsed.
Heyer says it’s possible Ukrainian forces might try some of the same at Lyman.
It is possible that they will try to use the momentum created now to tear apart the Russian defensive positions. At the same time, the Ukrainians are vulnerable to losses, so the main forces will rely on supplies and artillery coming in at the rear, Heyer says.
Party overwhelmed
News of the fighting around Lyman came at the same time that the Russian authorities were preparing to celebrate in Moscow, where Donetsk and Luhansk as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhya It was forcibly incorporated into the Russian Federation and declaredRussian tribute.
Pushlin said Friday that Ukrainian forces “Attempting to obfuscate the historical integration in Russia”.
– Fifthto meBring back the people fighting, we call for precautions and we are mto me Persevere, despite the fact that the enemy has deployed large forces against us, said the leader of Donetsk.
President Zelensky, for his part, made it clear that the goal was to restore all occupied territories.
– How much did the attack cost Ukraine?
The Ukrainian attack claimed many lives on his part. However, Ukraine has widespread mobilization and is encouraged by progress and high fighting spirits, and with Western defense aid they will see this as an acceptable cost.
Ukrainian forces wage war in a more modern way than the Russians, which means they will try to inflict significant damage on the Russians without risking Russian counterattacks, Heyer says.
Follow the development in the NRK News Center:
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