Kyiv: A key Russian ally has called for the possible use of low-grade nuclear weapons after Ukrainian forces claimed to have captured Lyman, a major stronghold in occupied eastern Ukraine. The territory was annexed on Saturday after Putin announced that nearly a fifth of Ukraine, including Donetsk, where Lyman is located, was occupied by Russia and placed under its nuclear protection. The elaborate ceremony was denounced by Kyiv and the West as an illegal spectacle. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, posted a video on social media announcing the capture of Ukrainian troops. The video was taken in front of the city council building in the center of Lyman.

One of the soldiers says, "Dear Ukrainian, today the Armed Forces of Ukraine ... liberated and took control of the settlement of Lyman, Donetsk region." A group of soldiers lowers Russian flags from the roof of the building at the end of the video and replaces them with the Ukrainian flag. The withdrawal of troops from the area was announced by the Russian Defense Ministry hours earlier "in connection with the building up of the siege threat".

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Lyman served as the logistics and transportation hub for Russia's operations north of the Donetsk region. It is Ukraine's biggest battlefield victory since lightning struck the northeastern Kharkiv region last month.

Zelensky promised more quick victories in the Donbass, which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions largely under Russian control, in an attempt to capitalize on Ukraine's recent gains.
"Ukrainian flags have become more prevalent in the Donbass in the past week. In a week, there will be more, the president promised in a video address that night.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin praised Lyman's capture and predicted it would create new difficulties for the Russian military. Austin told a news conference Saturday that "what we're seeing right now is very encouraging."

As the Kremlin presses down on the more than seven-month-long invasion of Ukraine, Austin noted that Lyman was stationed in supply lines that Russia used to push its troops and equipment down south and west.
"Without those routes it would be difficult. So, going forward, it poses a dilemma for the Russians.

Despite the fact that US officials have widely condemned Russia's recent nuclear rhetoric and President Joe Biden has publicly urged Putin not to use nuclear weapons, Austin did not express whether his Believed that the capture of Lyman by Ukraine could lead to Russian escalation.

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Putin allies such as Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia's southern Chechnya region, are angry with Ukraine's achievements.

Before Zelensky's remarks, Kadyrov wrote on Telegram that more drastic action should be taken, including the imposition of martial law in border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons.

Even though former President Dmitry Medvedev and other prominent figures have warned that Russia may need to use nuclear weapons, Kadyrov's call was the most urgent and direct.

Putin insisted last week that he was not playing the game when he pledged to use all means at his disposal to defend Russia's "territorial integrity" and made it abundantly clear on Friday that This commitment covers the new territories created by Moscow.

According to Washington, the use of any nuclear weapon would be met with a decisive response.
Prior to the capture, a spokesman for Ukraine's Eastern Forces, Serhi Cherevaty, claimed that Russia had between 5,000 and 5,500 troops in Lyman, although the besieged numbers may have been lower.

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According to Washington, the use of any nuclear weapon would be met with a decisive response.
Prior to the capture, a spokesman for Ukraine's Eastern Forces, Serhi Cherevaty, claimed that Russia had between 5,000 and 5,500 troops in Lyman, although the besieged numbers may have been lower.

logistics center

The complete occupation of the Lugansk region, which Moscow announced in early July after several weeks of advance, is what will be made possible by Ukraine's claims about Lyman.

Lyman is important because it represents the following step in the liberation of the Ukrainian Donbass, according to Chervaty. "This is a chance to visit Kremina and Svyerodonetsk, and it is psychologically important."

Russia has focused heavily on the Donbass since its attack on its smaller neighbor on February 24, in what Putin referred to as a "special military operation".

The Donbass and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions in the south form a group of areas equal to about 18% of Ukraine's total surface land area that Putin claimed as Russian. Kyiv vowed to drive the Russian army out of its territory.

Russian defeat in Lyman, according to retired US Army General Ben Hodges, would cause Putin great political and military embarrassment.

This clearly shows that his claim is invalid and cannot be upheld, he claimed. Germany announced that it will soon send Ukraine the first of four cutting-edge IRIS-T air defence systems to help defend against drone attacks.