Serhiy Haidai, who is President Zelensky's chief adviser on the Donbas and regional governor of Luhansk, said on Twitter, "Lyman has been completely cleaned," and that "We are waiting for beginning of large-scale process of deoccupation of Luhansk region."

With a pre-war population of over 20,000 people, Lyman has been described since the start of the Russian invasion as a key logistics and transportation hub of the east.

Russia's defense ministry on Saturday issued a statement confirming its forces have withdrawn: "In connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement, the allied troops were withdrawn from the settlement of Krasny Lyman to more favorable lines," it said in a daily briefing.

Last week, the Kremlin said that it's wouldn't contemplate ending its "special operation" until at least all of the Donbas - as well as the totality of the four annexed territories - have been secured. This includes the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions - none of which at this point are under 100% Russian control.

VIDEO: https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1576313811598200832

Yet during his major speech declaring that the territories have now been politically absorbed into the Russian Federation, President Putin said they are "ours forever" and vowed to defend them by all available means.

The Kremlin has emphasized that "Any strikes targeting the new areas after their accession to Russia will be considered aggression against us." The threats have been widely viewed as indicating Russia is about to send significantly more troops to the battlefield, after the mobilization of some 300,000 reservists - though some say this figure could be even higher.

According to the Moscow Times: 

The Russian decision to withdraw from Lyman led to immediate criticism from Kremlin allies. 

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov posted on messaging app Telegram that, if it was his decision, he would demote the commander in charge of the Lyman operation, "strip him of his medals and send him to the front with a rifle to wash away his humilation in blood."

And over the weekend some pundits on Russian television expressed their shock and anger, as calls for greater Russian mobilization and intervention grow from some Kremlin circles.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-recaptures-key-donetsk-town-lyman-day-after-putins-annexation-speech