Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukraine declares full control of Lyman – as it happened
This article is more than 1 year old
Key city in east of country ‘fully cleared’ of Russian forces, says Zelenskiy; European leaders call annexation ‘blatant’ violation of international law
A Ukrainian flag waves in a residential area heavily damaged in the village of Dolyna in Donetsk Oblast, after the withdrawal of Russian troops . Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A Ukrainian flag waves in a residential area heavily damaged in the village of Dolyna in Donetsk Oblast, after the withdrawal of Russian troops . Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Ukraine is in full control of the eastern logistics hub of Lyman, Kyiv’s most significant battlefield gain in weeks, which a senior official said could provide a staging post for further gains to the east, Reuters reports.
“As of 1230 (0930 GMT), Lyman is fully cleared,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a short video clip on his Telegram channel.
There was no comment from the Russian armed forces on Sunday on the status of the city. The Russian defence ministry said on Saturday it was pulling troops out of the area “in connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement”.
The latest stinging setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin came after he proclaimed the annexation of four regions covering nearly a fifth of Ukraine on Friday, an area that includes Lyman.
Kyiv and the West have condemned the proclamation as an illegitimate farce.
Russian forces captured Lyman from Ukraine in May and had used it as a logistics and transport hub for its operations in the north of the Donetsk region.
Losing it is Russia’s largest battlefield loss since Ukraine’s lightning counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region last month.
Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region that neighbours Donetsk, said control over Lyman could help Ukraine reclaim lost territory in his region, whose full capture Moscow announced in early July after weeks of grinding advances.
“The liberation of this city in the Donetsk region is one of the key factors for the further de-occupation of the Luhansk region,” Gaidai wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday.
It’s slightly past 11pm in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Smyhal said on Sunday that 900 Ukrainian teachers have volunteered to join Ukraine’s Armed Forces to fight against Russia’s invasion since February 24. “This is a great example of serving your people,” he said.
The body of Paul Urey, a British aid volunteer who died after being captured by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine has been returned to the UK. Urey’s family raised £9,000 to repatriate his body after the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was unable to pay the transport costs.
Ukrainian forces have shot down 8 Iranian-made kamikaze drones on Sunday, the Kyiv Independent. According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukraine’s air force also carried our four strikes that hit two Russian weapon stockpiles, as well as two anti-aircraft missile systems.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said that he believes Ukraine is “making progress” in the war. In a CNN interview that aired on Sunday, Austin attributes the changing tide of war to the calibre of Ukrainian soldiers and their use of weapons provided to them by the US and NATO countries.
Ukraine is starting to believe it can take back Crimea, according to Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s top representative in the region. While there’s no suggestion that Ukraine is close to being in a position to regain the annexed region, Tamila Tasheva and her team spend their days discussing the logistics of what would happen should Kyiv regain control.
The recapture of Lyman is a key factor for “further de-occupation” in the neighbouring Luhansk region, according to its Governor Serhiy Gaidai. The comments, reported by Reuters, come after Ukrainian forces declared full control of a city located in one of the four regions annexed by Vladimir Putin on Friday.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has been discussing the military importance of Lyman, following the news that Russia has lost control of the eastern city. AP reports that the Donetsk city was described as crucial during a daily intelligence briefing on Sunday, owing to its “key road crossing over the Siversky Donets River, behind which Russia has been attempting to consolidate its defences.”
The nine European countries who issued a statement earlier to condemn Russia’s annexation of Ukraine were all signalling their support for Ukraine to join Nato. AP reports that the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia were backing a path for Ukraine’s Nato membership in their slightly opaque joint statement.
Ukraine’s capture of Lyman demonstrates that the country is making progress and able to push back against Russian forces, Nato Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, has told NBC. “We have seen that they have been able to take a new town, Lyman, and that demonstrates that the Ukrainians are making progress, are able to push back the Russian forces because of the courage, because of their bravery, their skills, but of course also because of the advanced weapons that the United States and other allies are providing,” Reuters reports that Stoltenberg said.
A leading charity which has been helping the government with rematching Ukrainian refugees with UK hosts after initial placements end or break down, is to scale back its work because they say the scheme is unworkable. Refugees at Home is one of five voluntary and community organisations listed as “recognised providers” on the gov.uk website to help match and rematch Ukrainian refugees with UK hosts.
The Associated Press has found evidence of 10 torture sites in the city of Izium, following Russia’s retreat. “The AP spoke to 15 survivors of Russian torture in the Kharkiv region, as well as two families whose loved ones disappeared into Russian hands. Two of the men were taken repeatedly and abused. One battered, unconscious Ukrainian soldier was displayed to his wife to force her to provide information she simply didn’t have,” the AP reported.
Russia has attacked Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s home town with suicide drones. Kryvyi Rih, the southern Ukrainian town where the president grew up, was hit by a Russian suicide drone early on Sunday, according to Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of Dnipropetrovsk.
Russia’s constitutional court has today recognised the annexation of four key Ukrainian territories as lawful. The court has effectively rubber stamped the annexation accords signed by Vladimir Putin with the Moscow-backed leaders of the regions, despite widespread condemnation by the West.
Germany, Denmark and Norway have commissioned a batch of long-range weapons to be built for Ukraine. The supply of 16 Slovak Zuzana-2 howitzers, just announced by the German defence ministry, will begin next year. It follows calls from Ukraine for heavier armaments to build on recent successes on the battlefield.
The gas leaks on the damaged Nord Stream 1 pipeline have now been stopped. This follows Saturday’s announcement that gas was no longer flowing out of Nord Stream 2. Denmark’s energy agency said on Sunday it had been informed by Nord Stream AG that stable pressure had been achieved in the damaged Nord Stream 1 pipeline and that this indicates the outflow of natural gas from the last leaks had now halted, Reuters reports.
Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Smyhal said on Sunday that 900 Ukrainian teachers have volunteered to join Ukraine’s Armed Forces to fight against Russia’s invasion since February 24.
⚡️Prime Minister: 900 Ukrainian teachers have joined Ukraine's Armed Forces to fight Russia’s aggression since Feb. 24.
Speaking during the annual Global Teacher Prize ceremony, Denys Smyhal said that “this is a great example of serving your people.”
The body of a British aid volunteer who died after being captured by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine has been returned to the UK.
The family of Paul Urey raised £9,000 to repatriate his body after the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was unable to pay the transport costs, the Guardian’s Robyn Vinter reports.
Urey, 45, was captured by pro-Russia separatists along with other British nationals in April after travelling to Donetsk.
He had initially planned to join the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, but was rejected on health grounds and became an aid volunteer.
Shortly after he was captured at a checkpoint near the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia his family members begged his Russian captors to provide him with the medication he needed to manage his type 1 diabetes.
When his death was reported in July, a Russian official, Natalya Nikonorov, blamed “acute coronary insufficiency aggravated by pulmonary and brain edema.”
Ukrainian forces have shot down 8 Iranian-made kamikaze drones on Sunday, the Kyiv Independent reports.
According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukraine’s air force also carried our four strikes that hit two Russian weapon stockpiles, as well as two anti-aircraft missile systems.
This handout photo taken and released by Armed Forces of Ukraine shows the wreckage of allegedly Iranian-made suicide (kamikaze) drone, which was shot down in the town of Odessa, on September 25, 2022, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Photograph: Armed Forces of Ukraine/AFP/Getty Images
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said that he believes Ukraine is “making progress” in the war.
In a CNN interview that aired on Sunday, Austin attributes the changing tide of war to the calibre of Ukrainian soldiers and their use of weapons provided to them by the US and NATO countries.
“What we’re seeing now is a kind of change in the battlefield dynamics…They’ve done very, very well in the Kharkiv area and moved to take advantage of opportunities. The fight in the – the Kherson region’s going a bit slower, but they’re making progress,” said Austin.
He added that Ukrainian soldiers have been using “technology like HIMARS” and that they are using it in the “right way…[to] conduct attacks on things like logistical stores and command and control, that’s taking away – taken away significant capability from the Russians.”
“It’s not just about the equipment that you have. It’s about how you employ that equipment, how you synchronize things together to create battlefield effects that then can create opportunities,” he said.
Tamila Tasheva and her team are planning for life after the Russian occupation of Crimea. Photograph: Hennadii Minchenko/Future Publishing/Ukrinform/Getty Images
Ukraine is starting to believe it can take back Crimea, according to Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s top representative in the region.
While there’s no suggestion that Ukraine is close to being in a position to regain the annexed region, Tamila Tasheva and her team spend their days discussing the logistics of what would happen should Kyiv regain control.
“This is moment X. Right now everything is happening in a way that it feels inevitable,” said Tasheva. “It may not happen tomorrow, but I think it will be much quicker than I thought a year ago.”
The recapture of Lyman is a key factor for “further de-occupation” in the neighbouring Luhansk region, according to its Governor Serhiy Gaidai.
The comments, reported by Reuters, come after Ukrainian forces declared full control of a city located in one of the four regions annexed by Vladimir Putin on Friday.
In a move rejected by the international community, Putin annexed Donetsk together with Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk – proclaiming the quartet to be part of Russia “for ever”.
Russian forces have lost Lyman four months after first seizing the city, a move that Governor Gaidai hopes will prove pivotal for his region.
Ukraine: footage shows remains of Russian convoy fleeing Lyman – video
AP reports that the Donetsk city was described as crucial during a daily intelligence briefing on Sunday, owing to its “key road crossing over the Siversky Donets River, behind which Russia has been attempting to consolidate its defences”.
Lyman has been retaken by Ukrainian forces despite Putin announcing Donetsk’s incorporation into Russian Federation on Friday, an annexation that AFP reports has today been recognised as lawful by Russia’s constitutional court.
The liberation of Lyman has “brought a new mood of optimism” into the nearby city of Sloviansk, a place that has been acutely impacted for months as a result of once being one of Russia’s main objectives alongside neighbouring Kramatorsk.
While the city itself is tentatively coming back to life, residents say the transformation is most noticeable in the countryside on the road towards Lyman.
In a short video clip on his Telegram channel, Zelenskiy thanked serving Ukrainian troops for liberating Lyman. “As of 1230 [Kyiv] local time Lyman is completely cleared,” he said, adding: “Glory to Ukraine”.
Earlier Zelenskiy said his army would continue its offensive in the south and east and would “return back” all of the territory occupied by Russia, including Crimea. He suggested Russian generals were now “biting each other” after a series of embarrassing setbacks.
Their loss of Lyman four months after Russian servicemen seized the city in the Donetsk oblast amounts to a humiliating moment for Vladimir Putin. On Friday, in a move rejected by the international community, he annexed Donetsk together with three other Ukrainian regions, and said they were a part of Russia “for ever”.
More #Russian flag burning in #Lyman today, with the Ukrainian colours raised outside the city's police station, and the white blue and red tricolour set alight in the courtyard pic.twitter.com/9LSbtmgTGL
Ukraine's President Zelenskiy, Prime Minister Shmyhal and Parliament Speaker Stefanchuk hold a request for fast-track membership of the NATO military alliance, in Kyiv Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters
The nine European countries who issued a statement earlier to condemn Russia’s annexation of Ukraine were all signallingtheir support for Ukraine to join Nato.
AP reports that the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia were backing a path for Ukraine’s Nato membership in their slightly opaque joint statement.
The leaders of the nine countries said they “firmly stood behind the 2008 Bucharest Nato Summit decision concerning Ukraine’s future membership.”
Members at that 2008 summit welcomed Ukraine and Georgia’s aspirations to join, but declined to provide a clear timeline for the two countries’ possible ascension. The latest letter still mentions no timeline.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Friday that he was applying to join Nato and signed an expedited application to join the security alliance of 30 states.
When asked on Friday about the application, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the application process in Brussels “should be taken up at a different time.”
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at Nato’s headquarters in Brussels Photograph: Olivier Matthys/AP
Ukraine’s capture of Lyman demonstrates that the country is making progress and able to push back against Russian forces, Nato Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, has told NBC.
“We have seen that they have been able to take a new town, Lyman, and that demonstrates that the Ukrainians are making progress, are able to push back the Russian forces because of the courage, because of their bravery, their skills, but of course also because of the advanced weapons that the United States and other allies are providing,” Reuters reports that Stoltenberg said.
Asked about Ukraine’s application for accelerated membership in the Western defence alliance, Stoltenberg said: “any decision on membership has to be taken by consensus all 30 allies have to agree to make such a decision.”
Stoltenberg also said that Nato supports the investigation into the apparent sabotage of Russia’s Nord Stream pipelines that run from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea.
“Any deliberate attack on critical Nato infrastructure will be met with a firm and united response from an angle,” Stoltenberg said.
A leading charity which has been helping the government with rematching Ukrainian refugees with UK hosts after initial placements end or break down, is to scale back its work because they say the scheme is unworkable.
Refugees at Home is one of five voluntary and community organisations listed as “recognised providers” on the gov.uk website to help match and rematch Ukrainian refugees with UK hosts.
Hosting arrangements are for a minimum of six months and many are now coming to an end after the scheme opened in March of this year. As fewer UK hosts are now coming forward, rematching requests from Ukrainians are increasing.
Many Ukrainian households have become homeless – around one third of them in London. According to government figures from 24 February 2022 until 26 August 2022 1,565 Ukrainian households were registered as homeless by councils.
Holding cells are visible in a basement of a police station that was used by Russian forces to detain and torture Ukrainians in the recently liberated town of Izium Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
The Associated Press has found evidence of 10 torture sites in the city of Izium, following Russia’s retreat. Here’s some of their reporting on the ground:
A deep sunless pit with dates carved into the brick wall. A clammy underground jail that reeked of urine and rotting food. A clinic, a police station and a kindergarten.
These were among the 10 Russian torture sites located by Associated Press journalists throughout the Ukrainian city of Izium. Torture in Izium was arbitrary, widespread and absolutely routine for both civilians and soldiers during the six months the Russians controlled the city, an AP investigation has found.
The AP spoke to 15 survivors of Russian torture in the Kharkiv region, as well as two families whose loved ones disappeared into Russian hands. Two of the men were taken repeatedly and abused. One battered, unconscious Ukrainian soldier was displayed to his wife to force her to provide information she simply didn’t have.
The AP also confirmed eight men killed under torture in Russian custody, according to survivors and families. All but one were civilians.
At a mass grave site created by the Russians and discovered in the woods of Izium, at least 30 of the 447 bodies recently excavated bore visible marks of torture bound hands, close gunshot wounds, knife wounds and broken limbs, according to the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office. Those injuries corresponded to the descriptions of the pain inflicted upon the survivors.
