Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the Ukrainian flag is flying in Lyman after Russian troops withdrew from the city.
Lyman is in Donetsk – one of the Ukrainian regions that was annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a ceremony in Moscow on Friday.
Ukraine said it had encircled thousands of Russian troops in the area and its forces were inside the city.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry tweeted that “almost all” of the Russian troops at Lyman had either been captured or killed.
However, Moscow continued to claim that it had withdrawn deliberately to avoid encircling its troops.
In his nightly address to his country, President Zelensky confirmed: “The Ukrainian flag is already in Lyman in the Donetsk region.” but he added: “The fight is still going on there.”
Russia has been using Lyman as a logistics and transport hub for its operations north of the Donetsk region.