According to the Associated Press, Russia announced on Saturday that it has withdrawn troops from the city of Lyman as Ukraine’s forces made progress toward retaking the annexation.
Why it’s important One day after Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed four Ukrainian territories, including the Donetsk region where Lyman is situated, the pullout took place.
The most recent: According to Reuters, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of southern Chechnya who refers to himself as a foot soldier of Putin, advocated for more extreme actions.
“In my personal opinion, more drastic measures should be taken, right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons,” Kadyrov wrote on Telegram.
On Saturday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry tweeted a confirmation that its troops had entered the city.
Two troops can be seen taking the Ukrainian flag apart in a ministry-posted video.
According to the ministry, “in today’s and any upcoming’referendums,’ the army of Ukraine has and will always have the deciding vote.” – an obvious allusion to Putin’s annexation.
According to the New York Times, unconfirmed video and photographs indicate that Ukraine may have the upper hand, and Ukrainian soldiers are getting closer to taking the city.
According to the AP, the Russian defense ministry informed the local media that Russia will leave the city.
The big picture: According to Axios, Putin declared in a speech on Friday that Russia would annexe Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia from Ukraine. Writer Dave Lawler is.
Those areas are currently occupied by Russia. Putin conducted mock referendums during the past few days, claiming that the Ukrainian people approved of the proposal.
The inhabitants of those areas “have become our citizens forever,” according to Putin.
What we’re watching: According to AP, Ukraine may move into the Russian-annexed occupied Luhansk area.
Go further Putin asserts that 15% of Ukraine has been annexed by Russia.