kyiv is on the verge of a key victory.
The spokesman for the Ukrainian army in the East, Sergiï Tcherevatiï, affirms that "the Russian forces are surrounded in Lyman".
According to him, "about 5,000-5,500 Russians" had been entrenched in and around Lyman in recent days.
For Serguiï Gaïdaï, the governor of the neighboring region of Lugansk, the Russian soldiers present "in the cauldron" of Lyman "have three options: to flee, to die all together or to surrender".
On Friday, a senior pro-Russian separatist official, Denis Pushilin, acknowledged that the Russians present in Lyman were fighting there "at the end of their tether", facing a "difficult" situation.
He also said that the Russian forces there were "partially surrounded" by Ukrainian soldiers.
In addition to putting a large number of enemy soldiers out of action, the capture of Lyman would be a symbolic blow in the counter-offensive and a real strategic victory, the city being an important railway junction in the Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian army announced to enter the city around 3 p.m. on Saturday.
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