Ukraine has said it has full control of Russia's eastern logistics hub Lyman as its troops continued a successful counteroffensive on Sunday, just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the formal annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that the success of the country's soldiers was not limited to the recapture of Lyman, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the capture of the town showed the impact advanced Western weapons were having on the conflict.
"As of 12:30pm (09:30 GMT) Lyman is cleared fully. Thank you to our militaries, our warriors," Zelenskyy said in a video address. He added that his troops have also liberated the small Arkhanhelske and Myrolyubivka settlements in the Kherson region, reported Reuters.
It is believed that the loss of Lyman would be a significant blow to Russian forces as they depended on the city to transport military equipment, troops, and other necessary supplies.
"Without those routes, it will be more difficult so it presents a sort of a dilemma for the Russians going forward,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was quoted by Al Jazeera.
Russia had earlier said it was pulling troops out of the Lyman area "in connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement." However, Kremlin's daily update on Sunday did not mention Lyman though it claimed to have destroyed seven artillery and missile depots in the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Donetsk.
Meanwhile, nine NATO members have issued a joint statement supporting membership for Ukraine in the U.S.-led security alliance and urged the member countries to increase military aid for Kyiv.
The leaders of Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia published a statement on their websites on Sunday, saying: "We support Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion, demand (that Russia) immediately withdraw from all the occupied territories and encourage all allies to substantially increase their military aid to Ukraine."
These countries believe Russia could target them if it isn’t stopped in Ukraine. This comes as Zelenskyy recently announced he has decided to apply for fast-track NATO membership, in response to Russia’s annexation of four regions of Ukraine. NATO membership needs approval from all 30 members, and Ukraine is unlikely to join anytime soon as one of the criteria include having no conflict with its neighbours.