Moscow’s withdrawal from Lyman represents a “major political setback” and drew public criticism in Russia because the city is in Donetsk Oblast, a top-priority region of Ukraine that Russia is trying to “liberate,” the British Ministry of Defense in its latest assessment of the war.
In a video address on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine had regained full control of Lyman, which Russia had used as a transport and logistics hub.
“Thank you to our military, to our warriors,” he said.
Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of Russia’s southern Chechen Republic, wrote on Telegram that Russian military leader Colonel General Alexander Lapin should be fired after Saturday’s withdrawal.
“It is not necessary to make all decisions looking at the Western and American community,” Kadyrov said in the Telegram post. “Yesterday, the parade at Izium, today the flag at Lyman, and tomorrow what? Everything would be fine if it wasn’t so bad.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin who leads mercenaries fighting for Russia in the war, suggested that Russia send some leaders “barefoot with machine guns at the front”.
RUSSIAN TROOPS FORCED TO WITHDRAW: Russia abandons annexed city as Ukraine advances
Latest news:
►After Zelenskyy’s announcement, a video posted online showed a Ukrainian soldier saying that Kyiv forces had begun attacking the town of Kreminna, just across the border in Luhansk, east of ‘Ukraine. Russian military correspondents also acknowledged the Ukrainian attacks against Kreminna.
►The Ukrainian military said it shot down eight of Russia’s Iranian drones, seven tanks and an ammunition depot on Sunday.
►German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht pledged to deliver 16 wheeled armored shells produced in Slovakia to Ukraine next year. They will be produced in Slovakia and jointly financed with Denmark, Norway and Germany.
►The Russian withdrawal from northeastern Ukraine in recent weeks has revealed evidence of widespread and routine torture of both civilians and soldiers, particularly in the strategic city of Izium, an Associated Press investigation has found.
Ukraine’s military chief appreciates US support
Ukraine’s General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of his country’s armed forces, said he discussed his weapons needs with General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Sunday. The call came days after Congress voted to provide $12 billion to Ukraine. American weaponry has been key to the success that Ukraine’s military has gained over the past month.
“I am sincerely grateful to the entire American people and their leaders for the constant and unwavering support of Ukraine at this difficult time,” Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram.
Zelenskyy’s hometown draws Russian drone strikes
The hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came under attack by suicide drones on Sunday as Russia hit back at an effective Ukrainian counter-offensive that has pushed back its troops from thousands of kilometers of land they had occupied for months.
The southern city of Krivyi Rih was attacked in Russia by a suicide drone that destroyed two floors of a school early Sunday, said Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region. The Ukrainian air force said on Sunday that it shot down five Iranian-made drones overnight, but that two others got past air defenses.
The attack came a day after Ukrainian troops forced Russian troops to withdraw from Lyman, a strategic town in the Donbas region located in one of four areas incorporated by Russia on Friday.
“Russia made a farce in Donbas,” Zelenskyy said on Sunday. “And now Ukrainian flags are flying there.”
NATO leader issues warnings about pipeline sabotage, nuclear war
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday that the damage to two Nord Stream gas pipelines appeared to be sabotage and that “any deliberate attack on NATO’s critical infrastructure will be met with a firm and united response from NATO”.
Stoltenberg, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” also described President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear war rhetoric as dangerous and reckless, but nothing new.
“That doesn’t change the fact that this is dangerous,” Stoltenberg said. “This is also a reason why we have communicated so clearly to President Putin that any use of nuclear weapons will have serious consequences for Russia … (and) will totally change the nature of the conflict.”
Pope Francis urges Putin to stop ‘spiral of violence and death’
Pope Francis called on Russian President Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire on Sunday, imploring him to “stop this spiral of violence and death” in Ukraine and denouncing the “absurd” risks of nuclear war. Francis delivered his strongest plea yet about the 7-month “horror”. The pope, speaking to a Sunday crowd in St. Peter’s Square, also asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “be open” to serious peace proposals.
“The way the war in Ukraine is going has become so serious, devastating and threatening that it causes great concern,” Francis said.
9 EU countries issue a statement in support of Ukraine’s EU accession
The leaders of nine Eastern European countries issued a statement on Sunday reiterating their support for Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and saying they would “never” recognize Russia’s claim to four regions of the invaded country .
“We support Ukraine in its defense against Russian invasion, demand that Russia immediately withdraw its troops from all occupied territories, and call on all Alliance members to significantly increase military assistance to Ukraine,” says the declaration signed by Poland, Czech Republic. Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Slovakia. “All those who commit crimes of aggression must be held accountable and brought to justice.”
Contributor: The Associated Press
