Experts: Putin himself ordered the withdrawal from Lyman

Vienna, Dusseldorf When Russia’s army fled the Kyiv area in the spring, Moscow sold it as a “goodwill gesture” and the chaotic retreat from Kupyansk and Izyum as “regrouping.” But when the fall of the strategically important city of Lyman could no longer be kept secret on Saturday afternoon, the military leadership for once dispensed with euphemisms: “In view of the danger of encirclement, the Allied troops were withdrawn,” the Ministry of Defense declared.

However, it is doubtful whether they retreated to “a more favorable position”, as stated in the second part of the report. President Zelenskiy announced full control of the strategically important city on Sunday afternoon.

The city had been “completely cleared” since 12:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. CEST), the President said in a video that was only ten seconds long. But it remained unclear how many of the estimated 5,000 Russian soldiers managed to escape.