Will Russia capture all of Lyman by December 31, 2026?

The 44¢ price reflects meaningful uncertainty about Russian capture of Lyman within 26 months, with the Yes side offering an exceptional 179.6% annualized yield despite moderate 4¢ spreads and $19.7M open interest. The market has experienced sharp downward pressure over seven days (51¢ to 44¢), suggesting either improved Ukrainian defensive positioning or reduced market conviction in rapid Russian advances, though elevated realized volatility of 264% and a vol ratio of 1.96 indicate substantial disagreement on fair value. The 1.4 info arrivals per hour and neutral regime score suggest this is pricing genuine geopolitical uncertainty rather than technical mispricings, making the high implied yield a compensation for genuine tail risk rather than an arbitrage opportunity.

Resolution rules

This market will resolve to “Yes” if, according to the ISW map, Russia captures the entirety of Lyman, Donetsk Oblast, (48.990595° N, 37.805666° E) by the specified date, 11:59 PM ET. Lyman will be considered captured if the entirety of the municipality is shaded red on the ISW map (https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/36a7f6a6f5a9448496de641cf64bd375) by the resolution date. If the area is not shaded red by the resolution date, the market will resolve to “No”. For any change on the ISW map to qualify for this market’s resolution, the relevant shading indicating Russian control must persist through the next full ISW daily update cycle. If ISW skips a day, shading must persist until the next finalized ISW update is published, regardless of the date. Any continuous shading which reflects either “Assessed Russian Control”, “Assessed Russian Advance In Ukraine”, or “Assessed Russian Gains in the Past 24 Hours” will qualify. “Assessed Russian Infiltration Areas in Ukraine” will not qualify. The territory of the municipality is shaded in light grey and is distinguished from bordering municipalities with a darker grey line. If all area within the municipality is shaded in red, however, the shading does not precisely match up with the border such that there is a tiny amount of grey along the border of the city, this will still qualify for a "Yes" resolution. Once Russia captures the entirety of the specified area, any subsequent loss of control will not be considered towards the resolution of this market. Location on Google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/D8z4nAHJuu6DW8nX9 The primary resolution source for this market will be the ISW Ukraine map. If the ISW map is rendered unavailable, information from DeepStateMap (https://deepstatemap.live/) may be used. If information from both the ISW and DeepStateMap are rendered permanently unavailable, a consensus of credible reporting may be used. Note: Any temporary glitches or errors in the map will not be considered. If Russia comes into control of this territory as a result of a negotiated settlement, this will qualify for a 'Yes' resolution, regardless of whether it is shaded red in the ISW map. An announcement of a negotiated settlement that gives Russia de jure control will not qualify. Actual control must be established.

Indicators

Regime

Trade