The Russian rapper s final act of desperation came as Russian men were fleeing the warring nation in droves or breaking their own arms to avoid being conscripted into military action following Putin s September 21 address that called for 300,000 reservists to be sent to battle.
Russia s withdrawal from Lyman complicates its internationally vilified move to annex four regions of Ukraine and paves the way for Ukrainian troops to potentially push further into land that Moscow now illegally claims as its own.