Ukraine war: Russia takes small cities, aims to seize all of the contested Donbas region
- A Russian defence ministry spokesman said the city of Lyman had been ‘completely liberated’ by Russian soldiers and Kremlin-backed separatists
- Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted on Saturday that European nations halt sanctions on his country and weapons shipments to Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted on Saturday that European nations halt sanctions on his country and weapons shipments to Ukraine, where Moscow claimed its forces had captured another eastern city as they fought to seize all of the contested Donbas region.
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the city of Lyman had been “completely liberated” by a joint force of Russian soldiers and the Kremlin-backed separatists, who have waged war for eight years in the industrial region bordering Russia.
Lyman, which had a population of about 20,000 before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, serves as a regional railway hub. Ukraine’s train system has ferried arms and evacuated citizens during the war, and controlling the small city would give Russian troops another foothold from which to advance on larger Ukrainian-held areas.
The Kremlin said Putin held a three-way phone call with the leaders of France and Germany in which he warned against the continued transfers of Western weapons to Ukraine and blamed the conflict’s disruption to global food supplies on Western sanctions.
During the 80-minute call, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron urged an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops, according to the chancellor’s spokesperson. Both urged Putin to engage in serious direct negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to end the fighting, the spokesperson said.
A Kremlin readout of the call said the Russian leader affirmed “the openness of the Russian side to the resumption of dialogue.” The three leaders agreed to stay in contact, according to the readout.
But Russia’s recent progress in Donetsk and Luhansk, the two provinces that make up the Donbas, could embolden Putin to keep pursuing his military goals in Ukraine. After failing to occupy Kyiv, the capital, Russia set out to seize the last parts of the region not controlled by the separatists.