Ukrainian troops probably completely surrounded occupiers in Lyman — ISW

Ukrainian troops probably surrounded the occupiers in Lyman, says the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report. In particular, the Armed Forces of Ukraine cut off the last Torske-Drobysheve road through which the occupiers could retreat.

"russian sources indicated that Ukrainian troops probably completed the encirclement of the russian group in the Lyman area as of the end of the day on September 29. A well-known russian military correspondent stated that Ukrainian troops broke through russian defenses in the Stavok area, 10 km north of Lyman, and cut the Torske-Drobysheve road, which is the last supply and exit route for russian troops supporting the line west of Lyman," the report says.

In particular, it was reported about the "extremely difficult" situation for the BARS-13 unit and the 752nd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 20th Combined Arms Army, located in the Drobyshevo region and in Lyman.

Also, ISW, with reference to another military blogger from the russian federation, noted that Ukrainian troops are attacking Liman from three directions and have cut off russian access to the critical Svatove-Lyman road. The latter is the main land line of communication supporting the russian group in Lyman itself. Several more enemy correspondents stated that without re-enforcement of the russian military, Ukrainian defenders took Lyman.

"Earlier on September 29, the General Staff of Ukraine reported that seven tank units, formed by newly mobilized and poorly qualified individuals, were transferred to the Lyman region without proper fire training and got into a road accident. It is highly unlikely that any deployment of additional newly mobilized forces to Lyman will provide the existing russian group with significant defensive capabilities and prevent Ukrainian forces from destroying the Lyman Cauldron," ISW added.