Russian forces over the weekend captured the key city of Lysychansk in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, according to reports Sunday, marking a major strategic win for Moscow and bringing virtually all of the Luhansk province under Kremlin control.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that his troops have completed the “liberation of the Luhansk People’s Republic” after the final Ukrainian defenders retreated from Lysychansk to set up defensive lines deeper in eastern Ukraine.
Russia recognizes the Luhansk and Donetsk regions as sovereign states and has claimed its military operation in Ukraine is designed to liberate those territories.