President's Office Head Andriy Yermak published a video of Ukrainian soldiers standing at the Lyman sign at the entrance to the city, holding a Ukrainian flag. Russian troops have been occupying this Donetsk Oblast city since May.
Earlier, on Oct. 1, Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai said that about 5,000 Russian soldiers were encircled by Ukraine's Armed Forces in Lyman in Donetsk Oblast. According to Haidai, Russian troops asked their commanders if they could retreat but the request was turned down.
"The possibility of delivering ammunition to the city is already blocked," he said, adding that the Russian troops won't be able to exit the city.
Lyman is important because it is the next step towards the liberation of Donbas, wrote Reuters, citing Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesman of Ukraine's Operational Command “East.”
"It is an opportunity to go further to Kreminna and Sievierodonetsk (in Luhansk Oblast), and it is psychologically very important," Cherevatyi said.
