MYKOLAIVKA: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Lyman, a key town located in one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russia annexed, was "cleared" of Moscow's troops. The latest development - a feature of Ukraine's weeks-long counteroffensive against Moscow's invasion - comes as Russia pushed forward with finalizing the annexation of captured Ukrainian territories despite condemnation from Kyiv and the West.

The recapture of Lyman - which Moscow's forces pummeled for weeks to control this spring - marks the first Ukrainian military victory in territory that the Kremlin has claimed as its own and has vowed to defend by all possible means. "As of 12:30 pm (0930 GMT) Lyman is completely cleared. Thank you to our military!" Zelensky said in a video posted on social media.

Ukraine's army said it had entered Lyman on Saturday, prompting Moscow to announce the "withdrawal" of its troops from the town towards "more favorable lines". "Now I am optimistic and very motivated. I see the activity on the front line, and how foreign weapons... help us take our lands back," a 33-year-old Ukrainian solider, who uses the nom de guerre "Smoke", told AFP after returning from near Lyman. In a video address late on Saturday, Zelensky pledged to retake more areas in the country's eastern Donbas region within the week.

Court approves annexation

With Russian losses mounting, experts have warned that President Vladimir Putin could turn to nuclear weapons to defend territory - an option floated by a Putin ally. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said Saturday that Russia should consider using "low-yield nuclear weapons" after Moscow's troops were forced out of Lyman. Putin staged a grand Kremlin ceremony on Friday to celebrate the annexation of the four Ukrainian territories: Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia, following referendums denounced as void by Kyiv and its allies.

Despite condemnation from the West, Russia's Constitutional Court on Sunday recognized as lawful the annexation accords signed by Putin with the Moscow-backed leaders of the four Ukrainian territories. The annexation treaties will be considered by Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, on Monday, according to Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. The four territories create a crucial land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, also annexed by Moscow, in 2014.

Together the five regions make up around 20 percent of Ukraine. Kyiv has also called for the immediate release of the chief of the Moscow-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, condemning his "illegal detention" by the Russians. Ihor Murashov was leaving the plant Friday when he was detained and "driven in an unknown direction" while blindfolded, Ukraine's nuclear agency Energoatom has said.

'Grave concern'

In a statement from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), its chief Rafael Grossi said Murashov's detention was cause for "grave concern". Grossi is expected to travel to Kyiv and Moscow "next week", the UN agency added. Zaporizhzhia - Europe's largest nuclear energy facility - has been at the centre of tensions, with Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of strikes on and near the plant, raising fears of an atomic disaster.

Following the annexations, Washington announced "severe" new sanctions against Russian officials and the defense industry, and said G7 allies support imposing "costs" on any nation backing annexation. Zelensky urged the US-led military alliance NATO to grant his country fast-track membership. He also vowed never to hold talks with Russia as long as Putin was in power.

Russian annexations

Meanwhile, the presidents of nine NATO countries in central and eastern Europe declared on Sunday they would never recognize the annexation by Russia of Ukrainian territory. Their reaction comes two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties to annex four Moscow-occupied regions of Ukraine - Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia - following "referendums" the West has dismissed as "sham".

The presidents issued a joint statement saying they could not "stay silent in the face of the blatant violation of international law by the Russian Federation". "We reiterate our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," they said. "We do not recognize and will never recognize Russian attempts to annex any Ukrainian territory." The statement was issued by the presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Four of the signatories - Poland, and the three Baltic states - are on NATO's eastern flank with Russia.

Two others - Romania and Slovakia - have borders with Ukraine. Hungary, which also borders Ukraine, was notably absent from the list. Its nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, has sought close ties with Putin in recent years and railed against European Union sanctions on the Kremlin. Also absent were Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia.

The statement, published on the website of the Polish president's office, said the leaders of the signatory countries had "visited Kyiv during the war and witnessed with their own eyes the effects of Russian aggression". "We support Ukraine in its defense against Russia's invasion, demand Russia to immediately withdraw from all the occupied territories and encourage all (NATO) Allies to substantially increase their military aid to Ukraine," it said. "All those who commit crimes of aggression must be held accountable and brought to justice."

The presidents said they stood by a decision NATO made 14 years ago, supporting Ukraine's wish to join the trans-atlantic military alliance at a future date. They did not comment on Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014, or on Ukraine's request last Friday for fast-track NATO membership following Russia's annexation manoeuvre. NATO members have hesitated at accepting a country at war - which, by treaty, would oblige the alliance to come to its defense. NATO's Article 5 says an attack on one member is tantamount to attack on all. - AFP