MOSCOW (Dispatches) –
Russia’s defense ministry said on Saturday that the eastern Ukrainian town of Lyman had fallen under the full control of Russian and Russian-backed forces in the region.
“Following the joint actions of the units of the militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Russian armed forces, the town of Lyman has been entirely liberated from Ukrainian nationalists,” the ministry said in a statement.
Pro-Russian separatists from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic had said they had fully captured the town, a railway hub west of Sievierodonetsk.
Ukraine said on Friday that Russia had captured most of Lyman but that its forces were blocking an advance to Sloviansk, a city 20 kilometers southwest.
Ukrainian and Russian forces have been fighting for Lyman for several days.
In a daily update, the ministry said it had used missile strikes to destroy Ukrainian command posts in the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar, in the eastern region of Donbas.
Both towns lie on a strategically important road running southwest from Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk, where the main Russian offensive is now concentrated.
Ukrainian officials said earlier in the day that they will do “everything” to defend Donbas to prevent the eastern area from being surrounded by Russian forces.
Russia launched the military operation in Ukraine on February 24, following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements and Moscow’s recognition of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, collectively known as Donbas.
At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said one of the goals of what he called a “special military operation” was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.
Western countries have responded to the Russian offensive by backing Ukraine with cash and heavy weaponry while imposing unprecedented sanctions on Russian officials and entities.
The conflict in Ukraine has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 13 million, creating the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
The Russian ambassador to the United States says Washington’s sanctions against Moscow have worsened the unfolding global food crisis.
Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said on Friday that difficulties in the global food market have been building up for a long time, but “the crisis was further exacerbated due to the introduction by Washington and its satellites of illegitimate sanctions against Russia.”
The ongoing war, and the subsequent blockade on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, has endangered the world food supply by preventing Ukraine from shipping its agricultural products.
“Despite the references of U.S. officials to exemptions from the restrictions, which allegedly provide for the opportunity for our country to trade in farm goods, domestic exporters often don’t have a chance to make shipments,” Antonov added.
The Russian envoy also warned the U.S. against “shifting the blame” on Moscow, after the Pentagon on Thursday accused Russia of “weaponizing food.”