Russia admits failure in the city it annexed, terrified soldiers leave in the blink of an eye

Russia's defense ministry said it has withdrawn Russian troops from the strategic town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine.

"Due to the threat of encirclement, allied troops have withdrawn from Krasnyi Lyman to better positions," the ministry said, according to  the BBC.

Krasnyi (red) Lyman was the old Soviet name for Lyman, which Ukrainian forces say they entered. Russia calls its troops "allies" with local fighters backed by Moscow.

Earlier today, the Ukrainian army announced that it had surrounded several thousand Russian soldiers in Liman, a center of critical importance to Moscow.

Ukrainian troops surrounded 4-5 thousand Russian soldiers, who did not fight, but left the city.

Lyman is in the Luhansk region, which Putin declared Russian territory yesterday and threatened to use nuclear weapons to defend it. However, Luhansk is internationally recognized as Ukrainian territory, as are other regions annexed by Russia.