Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Troops Face ‘Imminent Defeat’ in East Ukraine Supply Hub

A Ukrainian soldier in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Kostiantyn Liberov / AP / TASS

Russian forces face “imminent defeat” to advancing Ukrainian soldiers in a key supply hub in eastern Ukraine, threatening Russian positions elsewhere and potentially undermining morale further, observers said Thursday.

Russian military bloggers said Ukrainian troops advanced west, north and northeast of the Donetsk region town of Lyman on Wednesday. Russian troops captured Lyman, which had a pre-war population of 20,000, in the third month of the invasion in May.

“From a staging point on the right bank of the Oskil River, the Ukrainian command continues the offensive aimed at reaching Svatove and encircling Lyman,” said Rybar, a pro-war Telegram channel that shares daily reports to 800,000 of its followers, in an English-language update.

A key railway juncture, Lyman could be used as a gateway for Ukrainian forces' counteroffensive to continue advancing further east without losing momentum before winter.

“The collapse of the Lyman pocket will likely be highly consequential to the Russian grouping in northern Donetsk and western Luhansk,” the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a daily update.

The Russian Defense Ministry’s failure to address these losses “will likely further reduce already-low Russian morale,” it added.

In a daily briefing Wednesday, the Defense Ministry's spokesman claimed that Ukraine’s offensive on Lyman had failed and that 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.

Rybar, however, noted that the Ukrainian forces’ manpower “allows the enemy to suffer heavy losses without reducing the onslaught” on Russian and pro-Russian positions.

Lyman’s capture would also likely complicate Russia’s imminent annexation of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, as well as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south, following referendums that Kyiv and its Western allies denounce as a sham.

The Kremlin said this week that the goal of the Russian offensive in Ukraine was to “at least” capture eastern Ukraine.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more