• Russian forces are "partially surrounded" in the town of Lyman, an important railway hub in eastern Ukraine, proof of a real advance by the men of kyiv on their territory

  • The sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines continues to be debated within the international community while Russia still denies its involvement in the latter.

  • Like every Friday, "20 Minutes" looks back on the key elements of the war in Ukraine and the major turning points of the week in infographics.

Ukrainian advance continues in the East

The Russians continue to advance in the East but are again and again pushed back by the Ukrainian front.

This Friday, Russian forces were "partially surrounded" in the strategic town of Lyman, in eastern Ukraine, a senior separatist official admitted, on the day of Moscow's planned annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

“Right now, Lyman is partially surrounded.

The Svatové road is under our control, but periodically under fire,” Denis Pushilin, head of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk, said on Telegram.

He acknowledged that the villages of Yampil and Drobychevé, close to Lyman, "are not under the total control" of Moscow.


Referendums that are not really referendums


Russia's electoral commission announced on Tuesday that the "yes" won between 97 and 98% of the votes in the annexation "referendums", after counting 20 to 27% of the votes, according to preliminary results relating to the polling stations in Russian territory.

At the same time, counting began in Ukrainian regions under Moscow control, Ria Novosti, TASS and Interfax agencies reported.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians came to Russia to escape the fighting in Ukraine, and the electoral commission opened polling stations for this diaspora on Russian territory.

“It is already clear that the overwhelming majority of people supported the exit from Ukraine and the union with Russia,” commented the head of the occupation administration of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, on the area under his control.

A sabotage that is debating


After the two leaks observed on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, as well as that found on Nord Stream 2, after two suspicious explosions on Monday, the Swedish coast guard reported the existence of a fourth leak.

In total, there are now two leaks on the Danish side, and two leaks on the Swedish side, in a reduced area.

"The distance is something subjective but they are close to each other," said the coastguard official, who did not explain why the discovery of this leak was later.

According to Swedish media, it would be located above the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

It remains to be seen how much gas was lost, and whether other leaks could make the situation worse.

If Nord Stream 2 never entered service, because of the war in Ukraine, Nord Stream 1 was also shut down anyway, officially for maintenance of parts - affected by the sanctions.

According to the Danish authorities, more than half of the gas contained in the two gas pipelines has already escaped into the atmosphere with these leaks, and the rest could follow by Sunday.

Lyman in the crosshairs of the Ukrainians



kyiv claims the reconquest of strategic cities including Koupiansk and Izioum, where hundreds of summary tombs are discovered.

Ukrainian forces now seem to be engaged in the recapture of Lyman, an important railway junction in the Donetsk region.

This Friday, a Ukrainian unit engaged in this battle, the 66th mechanized brigade, announced on Facebook that it had captured the village of Chtchourové, five kilometers southwest of Lyman.

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War in Ukraine: Annexation, mobilization… A week of tensions in four infographics

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