Latest Russian soldiers his troops were expelled from the city of Liman on Sunday Ukrainian army, after its re-capture. According to an article in a major Russian newspaper, “Our soldiers’ eyes were expressionless, blank as they retreated to avoid encirclement or capture, and the number of deserters has steadily increased in recent days.”

The Ukrainian commanders believed that recapturing Liman would be an easy task, but this was refuted by reinforcements sent by Moscow to the region, as fierce fighting had been going on in the dense forests around the city and on the banks of the Seversky Donets River in recent days.

The Russians randomly, in small groups, retreated into the forest, while many of them were killed or captured. According to the Ukrainian headquarters, the garrison in Liman consisted of 2,000 to 3,000 Russian soldiers.

As Ukrainian soldiers and police took to the streets of the city on Sunday looking for Russian soldiers who might be hiding there, the leaders of the Ukrainian liberators were unable to give an exact number of Russian prisoners they had taken. In his speech President Zelensky reported on Sunday evening that the port had been “secured” and that government agencies had already taken over the distribution of food to residents.

Artillery destroyed most of the city. According to the chief of the local police, the houses are in ruins, and there is no electricity, drinking water and other infrastructure in the area. In an interview, he said: “We are not interested in what the Russians say, what orders they give and what statements they make.

The Russians did nothing to help the population during the months they occupied the city. They did not try to restore either electricity or water supply.” Police estimated that only 5,000 residents remained in Liman out of 20,000 residents who were in the city prior to the start of the war in February.

With the Ukrainian forces in full control of Liman, the military commanders turned their attention to the next steps in their plan to retake the territory captured by the Russians. From the strategic position of Lyman, the Ukrainians could maintain the pace of their offensive, although a drop in temperatures is expected to slow the pace of operations, and Russian reinforcements are expected at any moment.

Defense analysts warn that Ukrainian forces risk being cut off from their supply lines if they continue to advance, unable to defend the territory they have wrested from the Russians. None of the four annexed territories is under full Russian control.

To the south, Ukrainian forces are fighting back fiercely in the Kherson region, which Russia took over in the first month of the war. Unlike the northeast, the south shows no mobility, although the Russian military is certainly having a hard time, having been cut off from supplies by effective Ukrainian attacks on critical bridges across the Dnieper.