Russia pulled troops out of eastern Ukrainian city that it had been using as a front-line hub after being surrounded by Ukrainian forces. The Ukrainian counteroffensive has humiliated and angered the Russians.
The withdrawal of Russia from Lyman complicates the move to annex four regions of Ukraine and paves the way for Ukrainian troops to possibly push further into land that Moscow now illegally claims as its own.
The fighting takes place at a crucial time in the war. Facing Ukrainian gains on the battlefield, which he frames as a U.S. orchestrated effort to destroy Russia, Putin increased his threats of nuclear force and used his most aggressive anti-Western rhetoric to date.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have inflicted damage on Ukrainian forces, but said outnumbered Russian troops were withdrawn to better positions. After the Ukrainian president's chief of staff posted photos of a Ukrainian flag being hoisted on the town's outskirts, the Russian announcement came.
In the Russian front line, Lyman was an important location for both ground communications and logistical operations. Located 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukranian, Lyman is near the border with Luhansk region, which was annexed by Russia on Friday.
In a counteroffensive that began in September, Ukrainian forces pushed Russian forces out of the Kharkiv area and then moved east across the Oskil River towards the strategic points.
Russian bombardments have intensified in the last few days as Moscow moved swiftly with the annexation.
20 people, including children, were killed in the northeast when Russian forces attacked a convoy of civilians. The head of Europe's largest nuclear plant was blindfolded and held captive by Russian forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his military are determined to liberate the annexed regions and other Russian-occupied areas despite Putin's land grab.
Russian forces are accused of killing dozens of people in two humanitarian convoys.
According to the governor of the Kharkiv region, 24 people were killed in an attack on a convoy of people trying to flee the area. A pregnant woman and 13 children were among the dead.
SynieHubov wrote that the Russians fired at civilians.
Photographs of the attack on the convoy were posted by the Security Service of Ukraine. There were burned corpses in what was left of the truck bed after it was blown up. One of the vehicles in the convoy was on fire. The bodies were lying on the side of the road with bullet holes in them.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its rockets destroyed Ukrainian military targets in the area, but didn't comment on accusations that it targeted fleeing civilians. Despite the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russian troops have continued to shell the area.
The director-general of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was taken over by Russian forces. According to the company, Friday was the day. The area around the nuclear plant was included in the treaties that were signed by Putin.
Russian troops blindfolded and took a man to an undisclosed location after stopping his car.
Russia didn't say anything about the report. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Russia told it that the director-general of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was held for questioning. The agency didn't say anything.
The power plant has been hit by fire many times. The last reactor at the power station was shut down in September as a precautionary measure due to ongoing shelling nearby.
Russia bombarded Ukrainian cities with missiles, rockets and suicide drones on Friday, killing at least 30 people and wounding 88.
The British Defense Ministry said the Russians probably hit a humanitarian convoy with anti-aircraft missiles. Russian officials blamed Ukrainian forces but didn't give any evidence.
The governor reported that four people were killed and six were wounded by Russian shelling.
The Russian army struck the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv twice overnight, once with drones and the second with missiles. A 3-month-old baby was among the injured.
The largest attempted annexation of European territory by force since the Second World War took place after Friday's land grab. The war is at a crucial moment, he said.
Zelenskyy applied for NATO membership on Friday, increasing the pressure on Western allies to defendUkraine.
On Friday, President Joe Biden signed a bill that provides more military and economic aid to the country.
That's right.
The war in Ukraine is covered by the Associated Press.
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