Kyiv’s forces are close to encircling a large concentration of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine in what would be a fresh blow to Moscow in the wake of its unpopular mobilisation and declared annexation of four Ukrainian provinces.
After a lightning counter-offensive this month that liberated thousands of square kilometres in Kharkiv, Ukrainian units have pushed further east and have nearly surrounded the town of Lyman - to the alarm of Russian military bloggers and nationalist commentators in Moscow. Lyman is a key staging ground for Russian forces for their campaign to capture the rest of Donetsk province.
Ukrainian forces are advancing from three directions on the town - west, north and south - and are looking to trap potentially several thousand Russian troops there.