President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in his new treatment noted the return of the Liman of the Donetsk region under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and promised to continue the Ukrainian offensive.
Zelensky also called the “referenda” on the annexation of Ukrainian lands to Russia a farce. “They portrayed something, took submachine gunners home, carried pieces of paper, propagandists filmed all this in that part of the Donbass that they controlled. And now there is a Ukrainian flag. There have been more Ukrainian flags in Donbas this week. In another week there will be even more,” the President of Ukraine promised.
On Sunday, October 2, a video with the Ukrainian military in the village of Zolotaya Balka, Kherson region, appeared on Telegram channels. At the same time, there has been no official confirmation of the transfer of the village under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The head of state also drew attention to the attempts of Russian officials to find those responsible for the retreat from Liman: “This is the first bell that should be heard at all levels of the Russian authorities. Until you all solve the problem with the one who started it all, you will be beaten out one by one, making you scapegoats.
The day before, the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov and the head of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin lashed out with criticism on Colonel General Alexander Lapin, commander of the Center group and the Central Military District. It was Lapin who was in charge of the withdrawal of troops from Liman. American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and bBritish intelligence believe that this pressure can be used to reshuffle the high military command in the near future.
The ISW also indicates that the same Lapin in March ordered the withdrawal of troops from Sumy and Chernigov after an unsuccessful attack. At the same time, the withdrawal is explained there by the salvation of the army. Under Liman, presumably, more than five thousand people could be surrounded and would be doomed to extermination.