By MINT
After being encircled by Ukrainian forces, Russia pulled troops out Saturday from an eastern Ukrainian city that it had been using as a front-line hub. It was the latest victory for the Ukrainian counteroffensive that has humiliated and angered the Kremlin.
Russiaâs withdrawal from Lyman complicates its internationally vilified move to annex four regions of Ukraine and paves the way for Ukrainian troops to potentially push further into land that Moscow now illegally claims as its own.
The fighting comes at a pivotal moment in Russian President Vladimir Putinâs war. Facing Ukrainian gains on the battlefield â which he frames as a U.S.-orchestrated effort to destroy Russia â Putin this week heightened his threats of nuclear force and used his most aggressive, anti-Western rhetoric to date…