In his late-night speech, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy declares the Russian annexations to be ineffective once areas are liberated. This is specifically the case in Cherson, where, according to him, other towns are being recaptured. Russian sources see the line of defense in danger.
In light of his army’s recent successes in recapturing previously occupied territories, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called the annexations by Russia meaningless. “As soon as the Ukrainian flag has returned, nobody remembers the Russian farce with any papers and any annexations,” said Zelenskyj in his daily video address on Monday night.
Specifically, this affects about two towns in the Cherson region in the south of the country. According to Zelenskyj, the villages of Arkhanhelske and Myrolyubiwka were recaptured. There is even talk of the liberation of other villages in the region on social media. According to unconfirmed reports, the Russian troops are even said to have withdrawn to the town of Dudtschany. According to the Colonel of the Austrian Armed Forces, Markus Reisner, numerous Russian sources even speak of the collapse of the Russian defense line.
A few hours earlier he had said that following the withdrawal of the Russians, Ukrainian troops had regained full control of the strategically important small town of Lyman in the eastern region of Donetsk. Around seven months after the war began, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin annexed the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Cherson in addition to Donetsk last Friday. The incorporation of the regions, parts of which Russia has not even conquered, in violation of international law, is not recognized internationally.
According to a report in the “Bild” newspaper, there was great destruction in liberated Lyman after the Russians left. Several dead Russian soldiers are still lying on the streets of the city, the newspaper writes, citing a local reporter.