Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Sunday that Moscow’s forces have taken the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk and control the entire Luhansk region, which has been the target of fierce battles in recent weeks.
“Sergei Shoigu has informed the commander in chief of the Russian armed forces, Vladimir Putin, of the liberation of the People’s Republic of Luhansk,” the defense ministry said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies.
Russian forces and their separatist allies have taken “full control of Lysychansk and other nearby towns, notably Belogorovka, Novodruzhesk, Maloryazantseve and Bila Hora,” the statement said.
The information was not immediately possible to confirm from independent sources, although recent video footage apparently from Lysychansk shows Russian forces in the city center.
A few minutes prior to the announcement, a spokesman for the Russian defense ministry said that fighting was ongoing in Lysychansk and that Ukrainian forces were “completely” surrounded.
The regional governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, said on Telegram on Sunday that “the Russians are reinforcing their positions in the Lysychansk region. The city is on fire.”