Ukraine surrounds Russian troops in eastern Luhansk, ‘transport hub’

Reuters reported on the 1st (local time) that Ukraine has besieged Leman, the northern gateway city of the eastern province of Luhansk.

“Russian forces have been under siege in the Lehman region,” said Serkh Cherevati, a spokesman for the Eastern Ukraine Army.

“Russian troops have 5,000 to 5,500 men at Lehman, but the current force may be less than that because there are casualties and soldiers trying to break through the encirclement,” he said.

Lehman is a transport hub located on the road to Lisichansk and Severodonetsk, the core cities of the northern Luhansk region. Ukraine, which recaptured Kharkiv last month, has continued fighting with Russia in the gateway city of Lehman to advance to Luhansk.

“The reason why Lehmann is important is that it is the next step towards the liberation of Donbas,” said Cherevati.

He said the Russian army was trying to break through the encirclement but was unsuccessful. “There were many casualties in the Russian army,” he said. “But the operation is not over yet.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that four Ukrainian provinces, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporiza and Kherson will be annexed the day before, and signed an agreement annexing them to Russia. In response, Ukraine plans to intensify its offensive for territorial recovery regardless of the Russian annexation agreement.