- US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says Ukraine’s capture of the city of Lyman is “significant”.
- The Russian defence ministry said Saturday that Russian forces left Lyman, a key city for their operations in the east.
- This happened just one day after Moscow illegally annexed the area, which the West said was wrong.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday that the Ukrainians’ capture of the city of Lyman is “significant” and that the US is “very encouraged” by what it is seeing from the Ukrainian military right now.
The Russian defence ministry said Saturday that Russian forces left Lyman, a key city for their operations in the east. This happened just one day after Moscow illegally annexed the area, which the West said was wrong.
“Lyman is right in the middle of where the Russians get their supplies. They have also used these routes to send people and supplies down to the south and west. And it will be harder without those routes. So this puts the Russians in a bit of a pickle for the future,” Austin told reporters at a news conference at the US Indo-Pacific Command in Honolulu, Hawaii.
But the Ukrainians’ progress on the battlefield has made people worry that the war could get worse, even to the point of using nuclear weapons.
“What it means in terms of potential escalation, I won’t speculate on that,” Austin said. “But what it does mean for the battlefield is that the Ukrainians continue to make progress and they continue to present problems to the Russians that they’ll have to resolve. And again, we all have to be encouraged by what we’re seeing,” he said.
Austin told media on Friday that Putin could use nuclear weapons, but there is no sign that he is going that way right now.
“Mr. Putin doesn’t have to answer to anyone. He could make another decision just like he made the irresponsible choice to invade Ukraine. But right now I don’t see anything that makes me think he has made such a decision “Austin said.
[embedpost slug=”russia-at-un-says-us-gains-from-nord-stream-disruption/”]
