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Ukrainian officials on Friday (May 27) said that the Russian-backed forces have taken control of the city of Lyman in the country’s eastern Donetsk region. Oleksiy Arestovych, who is the adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, apparently confirmed that Russian-backed separatists have control of the city.
In a video, as mentioned by news agency Reuters, Arestovych said. “According to unverified data, we lost the town of Lyman.” He added that the attack had been well organised. He said, “This shows, in principle, the increased level of operational management and tactical skills of the Russian army.”
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Pavlo Kyrylenko, who is the Ukrainian governor of the Donetsk region, told media outlet Hromadske that Lyman was “mainly controlled by Russian troops”. However, he also mentioned that the Ukrainian military had taken up new fortified positions in the area.
The city of Lyman is crucial as it is a site of a major railway hub and it has been a line target of the Russian forces. The town lies between Severodonetsk and Kramatorsk. It is apparently on the road leading to the key cities that are currently controlled by Ukraine.
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In a video on Telegram, Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said that at least five civilians had been killed in his region in the last 24 hours alone.
He said that four had been killed in Severodonetsk and one in Komyshovakha, 50 kilometres outside Severodonetsk. As quoted by the news agency AFP, he said that Russia is “ceaselessly shelling residential areas.”
Oleksandr Kozyr, who is the head of the main aid distribution centre in Lysychansk, outside Severodonetsk said, “People are willing to risk everything to get food and water. They are so psychologically depressed that they are no longer scared. All they care about is finding food.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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