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Russian troops withdrew from Lyman, a Ukrainian city in the Donetsk region, on Friday.
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The retreat came a day after Putin claimed the region was part of Russia.
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Putin’s powerful allies said Russia’s military leaders should be punished for retreating.
Strong supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the military’s withdrawal from a city in Ukraine on Saturday, a day after the president claimed to have annexed the region.
Putin signed decrees Friday claiming that four regions in Ukraine are now part of Russia, a move widely rejected by the West as illegal and invalid. However, a day later, Ukrainian forces invaded the city of Lyman, forcing Russian troops to withdraw from an area that Putin had just declared Russia. Lyman is in the Donetsk region, which Putin claimed to be annexing.
In a Telegram message, Ramzan Kadyrov – leader of Chechnya and an ally of Putin – said that the Russian military leadership had “covered” an “incompetent” general who “should be sent to the front to wash away his shame with blood” . according to the translation of The New York Times.
Another prominent Putin supporter and confidant, oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, echoed those sentiments in a statement. Referring to the Russian military generals, he said: “Send all these pieces of garbage barefoot with machine guns straight forward,” The Times reported.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei K. Shoigu has recently come under fire and was accused of military failure, especially after Ukraine’s successful counter-offensive in September. After Ukraine’s advance, Putin escalated the war by mobilizing troops, which also led to complaints and even protests in Russia.
Putin also appears to be in uncertain territory with key international partners, including China and India. In a UN Security Council vote to condemn Putin’s “illegal” annexation of Ukraine on Friday, both countries abstained.
Russia was the only veto vote.
Read the original article on Business Insider
