The officials of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” have reported capturing the town of Lyman in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
“The joint forces of the DPR and LPR with fire support from Russia have freed 220 settlements as of 27 May, including Lyman,” claims the self-proclaimed republic.
Oleksiy Arestovych, advisor to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, reported that the town had been captured yesterday during his interview for Mark Feygin.
“I think we have lost Lyman, but we need to verify this information,” he said.
Aleksandr Kots, a pro-Russian journalist, has posted a video on his Telegram channel showing soldiers with red armbands marching along destroyed buildings and captioned it: “Lyman is ours”.
The Conflict Intelligence Team, an independent Russian investigative organisation which provides daily reviews of the Ukraine War, reported Ukrainian soldiers retreating from Lyman on 25 May. There is urban combat in the town now; several troops are engaged in a fight to help the bigger units retract. There are also pictures of the Russian soldiers in Lyman.
“Nonetheless, we are yet to confirm that Lyman is under full control of the Russian forces,” the CIT says.
“The fights against the Russian army have reached maximum intensity. Russia fires along the entire line of confrontation and in the depths of the Ukrainian defence, they are using tactical missile systems, aircraft and artillery," says Anna Malyar, Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister.
Volodymyr Zelensky said on 23 May that the situation in Donbas was a dire one, with Russians focusing their efforts around Bakhmut, Sievierodonetsk and Popasna. Oleksiy Arestovych reckons the Russian army is trying to encircle the Ukrainian troops in Donbas to create “the new Mariupol”.
