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"Glory to the Ukraine" they shout and cheer the recapture of the city of Lyman.
Ukrainian soldiers remove the Russian flag and wave their own on the roof of the administration building.
Symbol of another heavy defeat of Putin's invading army.
For former US general and CIA chief David Petraeus, Ukraine's success comes as no surprise.
Petraeus was commander in chief of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He sees the Kremlin ruler Putin increasingly in distress.
David Petraeus, ex-CIA chief
'He's desperate too. He's losing. And the reality of the battlefield that he faces is irreversible in my opinion. In other words, over the past seven months, President Zelenskyy and Ukraine have mobilized far better than Russia. »
Images from Lyman: Destruction everywhere, fires in many places.
Residents are evacuated and have to leave the place.
The Russian troops have hastily withdrawn, but the fear remains: would Putin actually use tactical nuclear weapons now, as some Kremlin hardliners are demanding?
David Petreaus answers this question clearly in an interview with ABC:
David Petraeus, ex-CIA chief
"We would respond by leading a joint NATO effort that would eliminate every Russian conventional force that we can see and identify on the battlefield in Ukraine and also in Crimea, as well as every ship in the Black Sea."
However, this is not official US government doctrine, but rather Petraeu's assessment.
The ex-general said in July that he believes a victory for Ukraine is possible.
He sees the partial mobilization of Russian reservists and the annexation of the four republics in the Donbass as a chaotic act by Putin.
David Petraeus, ex-CIA chief
'He will continue to lose on the battlefield.
And at some point you will have to acknowledge that, at some point you will have to start negotiations.«
The recent successes of the Ukrainian troops and the expulsion of the Russian armed forces from the Kharkiv region give grounds for optimism.
According to Petraeus, however, Putin's military has not yet been defeated.
You have to take the nuclear threat seriously.
