A video shared widely on social media showed Ukrainian troops dancing before their victory in the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region on Saturday. Russia said that it had withdrawn from Lyman to avoid being surrounded by Kyiv's army.
The capture of Lyman- a city within the territory of areas which Russian president Vladimir Putin declared as annexed and a strategic railway hub- is a major victory for the Ukraine forces.
"When you see that Ukrainian troops are about to encircle Lyman," Ukrainian journalist Oleksiy Sorokin, of the Kyiv Independent, wrote, tweeting the video.
Watch video here:
The video shows Ukrainian soldiers dancing while waving red lights in the air. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine's victory in Lyman shows that Kyiv is making progress in pushing back against Russian forces.
{{/usCountry}}The video shows Ukrainian soldiers dancing while waving red lights in the air. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine's victory in Lyman shows that Kyiv is making progress in pushing back against Russian forces.
{{/usCountry}}Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai said that the recapture of Lyman is a key factor for further “deoccupation” in the region, Reuters reported.
On Friday, Russian president Vladimir Putin held a grand ceremony to celebrate annexation of four Ukrainian territories -- Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia -- following referendums.