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[キーウ ２日 ロイター] – The Ukrainian military announced on the 1st that they had recaptured Liman, a strategic point in the northern part of the eastern region of Donetsk, from Russia. It was a big blow to Russia, which announced the annexation of four eastern and southern provinces, namely Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporozhye the day before. Liman had become the new center of fighting for both sides after Ukrainian forces stepped up their counter-offensive in September.
Soldiers from the Ukrainian army announced that they had captured the town in the center of Liman. The deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office Kirilo Tymoshenko posted a video of the incident. The soldiers removed the Russian flag from the building and raised the Ukrainian flag.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced hours earlier that it was withdrawing its troops from the region. He said the threat of a siege was on the horizon.
In a speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to further try to recapture the Donbass region, which includes the Russian-controlled Donetsk and Lugansk provinces.
US Defense Secretary Austin said at a news conference on the 1st that he was encouraged by Leman’s recapture. He said that the Russian army had used Liman as a base for transport routes, and that it would be in trouble in the future. Despite some concerns about Russia’s use of nuclear weapons, he declined to say whether the recapture of Liman would escalate a Russian attack.
“Martial law should be imposed on the border areas and hard-line measures should be taken using low-yield nuclear weapons,” Putin supporter Chechnya Kadyrov wrote on the messaging app Telegram.
Senior officials such as former President Medvedev have also suggested that Russia may need to resort to nuclear weapons.
The United States has announced a policy of decisive action if nuclear weapons are used.
