Vladimir Putin faced severe embarrassment when Ukrainian soldiers liberated the key eastern city of Lyman, raising the blue and yellow national flag above its entrance sign, hours after Russia’s president announced that the area was Moscow’s “for ever”. Ukraine’s armed forces said they had entirely surrounded the city, trapping thousands of Russian soldiers inside. The governor of Luhansk province, Serhiy Haidai, said the besieged troops had begged on Friday to be allowed to leave Lyman. Their commanders refused, he claimed. With no way out, the Russians could either surrender, try to escape or die together, Haidai said. An attempt by...