by Tom Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk
KYIV, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said on Sunday the eastern town of Lyman was now “completely free” from occupation by Russian troops in the aftermath of the announcement by Moscow of a withdrawal of its forces from this railway and logistics hub in the Donetsk region.
“12:30 p.m. (09:30 GMT), Lyman is totally free,” he said in a short video posted on his Telegram channel.
The Russian armed forces made no statement on Sunday about the Lyman situation. Saturday, the Russian Minister of Defense had declared that he was withdrawing his troops from the area “in connection with the appearance of a threat of encirclement”.
The recapture of Lyman by Ukrainian forces is an additional setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, especially since it was announced the day after the annexation ceremony of four regions of Ukraine covering nearly 20% of the territory. , which include Lyman.
This annexation was denounced by Kyiv and by Western countries.
The Russian army had taken control of Lyman in May and had since used it as a logistics base for its operations in the northern Donetsk region.
Sergi Gada, the governor of the province of Luhansk, close to that of Donetsk, declared Sunday that the resumption of Lyman could help the Ukrainian army to reconquer other zones passed under Russian control in its area.
“The liberation of this city in the Donetsk region is one of the key factors for the coming disoccupation of the Luhansk region,” he wrote on Telegram.
Volodimir Zelensky has also promised other rapid successes in the Donbass.
“During the past week, the number of Ukrainian flags has increased in the Donbass. There will be even more in a week,” he said in his daily television address on Saturday. (Reporting Tom Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk, with Reuters bureaus; French version Marc Angrand)