MOSCOW: Russia's army confirmed Saturday it had seized the strategic town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine, on the road to two key cities still under Kyiv's control.

"Following the joint actions of the units of the militia of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Russian armed forces, the town of Krasny Liman has been entirely liberated from Ukrainian nationalists," the defence ministry said in a statement, confirming an announcement a day earlier by pro-Moscow separatists.

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Krasny Liman, which had a population of around 20,000 people before the hostilities broke out, is the town's old name.

Located in the north of the eastern Donetsk region, Lyman lies on the road to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the capital of the Ukrainian-controlled part of the region.