Ukrainian forces close in on vulnerable Russian pocket
RUSSIAN forces in the Donetsk region town of Lyman are on the brink of being encircled following Ukrainian gains to their north and east, pro-russian military bloggers have said.
The claims could not immediately be verified, but the reported Ukrainian gains appeared to match images and videos released on social media by Ukrainian soldiers.
The fall of the town would be another military set-back for Russia and position the Ukrainians to push into Luhansk region, reversing the hard-won gains of Russia’s summer offensive in Donbas.
It could be even more damaging politically, demonstrating that Russia has failed to stabilise its defensive line following the loss of Izyum and Kupyansk earlier this month.
“Ukrainian soldiers are releasing images of them raising a flag over the village council building in Novosyolovka. Thus, from the north between Liman and enemy forward positions, there remains just a few kilometres of land. The city is in an extremely vulnerable situation,” a Russian military telegram channel called Military Observer reported.
Rybar, another authoritative Russian military blogger, said Russian forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks in a number of areas to the north, west, and east of Lyman, but published a map showing Russian control confined to a narrowing salient.
The Daily Telegraph could not immediately verify the map. If genuine, it would suggest the Ukrainians are close to closing a pocket around the city.
Russian forces captured Lyman, in the northern Donetsk region, in May. It was intended to be used as a launchpad for an assault on Ukraine’s stronghold towns of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.
The garrison there was left vulnerable after a sudden Ukrainian offensive in early September led to the collapse of the Russian army group in Kharkiv region.
Ukrainian forces have this week attempted to expand a bridge head on the eastern bank of the Oskil river, where Russia had attempted to regroup after that retreat.
For Moscow, further retreat might be preferable to seeing Russian forces surrounded in a pocket, however.