Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing a significant defeat in eastern Ukraine, with maps showing his forces getting encircled by Ukrainian troops in the town of Lyman.
Britain's Defense Ministry revealed the news Wednesday in its latest intelligence update, stating that Ukrainian "units are making slow advances" toward the Oskil and Siverskyi Donets rivers.
A later Twitter thread from King's College war expert Mike Martin demonstrated the likely strategy Ukrainian troops were using: driving the battle flanks northeast of Lyman and forcing Moscow to defend a critical railroad junction.
"Then drive a much bigger encircling movement to trap the whole lot," he said, later adding that it was "causing the Russian Air Force to fly desperate missions to keep hard-to-defend pockets in business."
It comes as Ukraine's counteroffensive has made significant gains in retaking Russian-occupied territory. Earlier this month, Ukrainian officials claimed forces had recaptured roughly 3,090 miles of territory from the Kremlin thus far.
That success motivated Putin to partially mobilize the Russian forces up to 300,000 men last week. The process has drawn substantial backlash domestically and led to reports of a far broader enlistment effort than officially stated.
On Monday, a Siberian enlistment officer reportedly was shot and seriously wounded during a military call-up in the Irkutsk region, an area that currently appears to be Moscow's hotbed for recruitment.
Sources told independent Russian news agencies that military personnel was seen at Buryat State University in Siberia enlisting young men, claiming that the officers were taking "students straight from classes," according to Newsweek.
"The cops are on my campus, 10-15 people," a student wrote one day before clips emerged of military vehicles outside the building.
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