Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Lyman, a major city located in one of the four Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, has been “freed” from Moscow troops.
The latest development in Ukraine’s week-long retaliatory strike against Moscow’s invasion comes as Russia proceeded with finalizing the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories despite condemnation from Kyiv and the West.
Re-capturing Lyman – which Moscow’s military had for weeks to control earlier this year – marked the first Ukrainian military victory in its territory with the Kremlin vowing to defend by all means possible.
Ukraine’s military said it had entered Lyman, a strategic railway center in the eastern Donetsk region, on Saturday, prompting Moscow to point to “more friendly lines” to announce the “withdrawal” of its troops from the city .
Zelensky noted in his Sunday evening address that Lyman’s recapture had become the most popular story in the media. “But the successes of our troops are not limited to Lyman,” he said.
Read more: Shame or not? ‘Join Russia’ votes in four regions of Ukraine, explained
On the previous day he pledged to retake more areas in the country’s eastern Donbass region within a week.
“Now I am optimistic and very motivated,” a 33-year-old Ukrainian soldier, using nom de guerre “smoke”, told AFP after returning from Lyman.
“I see activity on the front lines, and how alien weapons … help us take back our land.”
Kyiv got a further boost on Sunday when Berlin said Germany, Denmark and Norway would deliver 16 armored howitzer artillery systems from 2023.
The three NATO members had agreed to jointly finance the purchase of the Slovakian Zuzana-2 guns, the German Defense Ministry said, although the announcement fell short of Kyiv’s demands for Germany’s Leopard battle tanks.