Currently, the length of the front is more than 3,000 km. There are active hostilities at a distance of 800 km. The most interesting part of the front is around the city of Lyman. Finally, there is the first official statement from the spokesman of OC East, in which he stated that the operation to encircle the Russian troops in Lyman is at the stage of completion. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have taken under fire control all the roads leading to the city, so the Russian troops are cut off from the supply of munitions and manpower in Lyman. Information was also confirmed that the Ukrainian army entered Yampil, which is 17 km from the city of Lyman. In fact, the Russian Lyman-Yampil defense line was destroyed. This happened despite the fact that the Russian enemy transferred a large number of reserves to this area and fortified it better than in other areas of the front. The ring around the estuary is narrowing. For the Russian troops in Lyman, there is less and less time left to break through the complete encirclement.
Map of hostilities in eastern Ukraine as of September 30.
Our troops have no shortage of ammunition for artillery. At the same time, OS East does not comment and name the exact time of the complete encirclement of Russian troops in Lyman. According to them, the operation to encircle the Russian garrison in Lyman is still ongoing. However, the complete encirclement of the Russian forces in Lyman is already predicted in Russian social networks and in the American Institute for the Study of War. In particular, the Institute for the Study of War claims that the transfer of additional troops to Lyman will not help the Russian forces avoid defeat and get out of the encirclement. The encirclement in Lyman will have major consequences for Russian troops in the north of Donetsk region and in the west of Luhansk region. Because it opens the way for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to Svatove, Kreminna, Severodonetsk, and Lysychansk. I think that such an opportunity will be realized in practice. It was very revealing that when Putin announced the annexation of the territories of Ukraine, Russian troops tried to escape from Lyman.
On September 30, Russia announced the annexation of 4 regions of Ukraine, which they do not fully control. A public ceremony of one of the stages of annexation was held in Moscow. In the course of this action, Putin announced another worthless speech of his. However, this event was overshadowed by the more important announcement that Ukraine is applying for accelerated accession to NATO. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's briefing was also held on September 30, during which he answered some questions related to this step.