Russia withdrew its troops from the strategic city of Lyman

in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Saturday, a day after
President Vladimir Putin hailed the annexation of Donetsk.

The retreat, announced by the Defense Ministry in Moscow, comes as Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion makes further gains and presents a big setback for Putin.

Due to “a threat of encirclement, allied troops were withdrawn” from Lyman “to more advantageous lines,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday in a Telegram post.

Putin on Friday proclaimed the annexation of Donetsk along with three other regions, following referendums that Western countries declared a “sham.”

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry earlier Saturday said Ukrainian Air Assault Forces were entering Lyman. The Ukrainian army “has and will always have the decisive vote in today’s and any future ‘referendums’,” the ministry said on Twitter, posting a video of what appear to be Ukrainian soldiers raising their country’s flag at the outskirts of the city.

Lyman has been an important logistics and supply hub for Russian forces fighting in eastern Ukraine. Its loss will further cripple Moscow’s supply lines just as Ukrainian troops are stepping up a counteroffensive in the east that has pushed Russian forces from the Kharkiv area.

“Lyman is important because it is the next step towards the liberation of the Ukrainian Donbas,” said Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern forces. “It is an opportunity to go further to Kreminna and Sievierodonetsk, and it is psychologically very important,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

The recapture of Lyman is the latest success in a Ukrainian counterassault that has seen Kyiv’s forces reclaim a vast amount of Russian-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine as Moscow’s troops have abandoned the front lines. The surge by Ukraine prompted Putin to mobilize 300,000 reservists and threaten to deploy nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war.

The withdrawal from Lyman prompted Ramzan Kadyrov, leader in the Russian region of Chechnya, to urge Moscow to consider using a “low-yield” nuclear weapon in Ukraine. “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, according to media reports.

U.S. President Joe Biden has warned Putin that there would be a “consequential” response if Russia uses tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Biden also said Washington will “never, never, never” recognize Russia’s attempt to annex territory in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had promised a “very tough” response to Putin’s annexations, and in a message Friday night he said: “We must liberate our entire land, and this will be the best proof that international law and human values cannot be broken by any terrorist state.”

The Russian mobilization has prompted Kyiv to call for more weapons from its Western allies, bolstered by Ukraine’s recent battlefield successes. The U.S. this week announced a $1.1 billion arms package for Ukraine, including 18 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

On Friday, the U.S. and the U.K. imposed new sanctions against Russia over its declared annexation of areas of Ukraine. Among those sanctioned are top officials of the Russian central bank, including Governor Elvira Nikolaevna Nabiullina, and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Valentinovich Novak.

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