By Our Special Correspondent
Russia said on Sunday its forces had taken control of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region after capturing the final Ukrainian holdout of Lysychansk in heavy fighting, though Ukraine did not confirm the claim.
Control of Luhansk, a key war aim for Russia, would come after weeks of slow advances, hand Moscow a limited political win and shift the battlefield focus to neighboring Donetsk region, where Ukraine still controls substantial territory.
Driven back from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv following its Feb. 24 invasion, Russia has concentrated its military campaign on the Donbas, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk. Moscow-backed separatist proxies have been fighting there since Russia’s first military intervention in Ukraine in 2014.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed President Vladimir Putin that Luhansk had been “liberated,” the defense ministry said after Russia earlier said its forces had captured villages around Lysychansk and encircled the city.
The minister said Russian forces and their allies in the area had “gained full control over the city of Lysychansk.”
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