Moscow said Saturday it had withdrawn its troops from Lyman, a key town in eastern Ukraine that lies in one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russia has annexed. 

"In connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement, the allied troops were withdrawn from the settlement of Krasny Lyman to more favourable lines," Russia's defence ministry said in its daily briefing, after Ukraine's army said it "encircled" several thousand Russian troops near the town. 

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