Russian troops 'encircled' near key Ukraine town in annexed region
The Hindu
Ukrainian forces were on the doorstep of Lyman town in Donetsk, which Moscow's forces pummelled for weeks to capture this spring.
Ukraine said Saturday it encircled several thousand Russian troops near a key town in one of the four Moscow-held territories that President Vladimir Putin annexed a day earlier despite condemnation from Kyiv and the West.
Putin staged a grand ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to celebrate the annexations of four territories controlled by his army.
"I want to say this to the Kyiv regime and its masters in the West: People living in Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are becoming our citizens forever," Putin said.
US President Joe Biden condemned Friday's ceremony in Moscow as a "sham routine" and pledged to continue backing Kyiv.
On Saturday, Ukrainian forces were on the doorstep of Lyman town in Donetsk, which Moscow's forces pummelled for weeks to capture this spring.
Ukraine's army said Saturday that it had "encircled" a Russian grouping near the eastern town, estimating it to be around 5,000 troops.
The governor of the neighbouring Lugansk region, Sergiy Gaiday, said the surrounded soldiers have three options: "try to break through, all die together or surrender."
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