Latest news with #Russian-controlled
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Russia takes full control of Ukraine's Luhansk region, Russian-backed official says
FILE PHOTO: Men ride vehicles near a building destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Toshkivka (Toshkovka) in the Luhansk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 17, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File photo MOSCOW - Russia has taken full control of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region, more than three years after President Vladimir Putin ordered thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian-backed head of the region told Russian state television. Luhansk, which has an area of 26,700 square km (10,308 square miles), is the first Ukrainian region to fall fully under the established control of Russian forces since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Putin in September 2022 declared that Luhansk - along with the partially controlled Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions - was being incorporated into Russia, a step Western European states said was illegal and that most of the world did not recognise. "The territory of the Luhansk People's Republic is fully liberated - 100%," Leonid Pasechnik, who was born in Soviet Ukraine and is now a Russian-installed official cast by Moscow as the head of the "Luhansk People's Republic", told Russian state television. There was no immediate confirmation from the Russian defence ministry, or comment from Ukraine. Ukraine says that Russia's claims to Luhansk and other areas of what is internationally recognised to be Ukraine are groundless and illegal, and Kyiv has promised to never recognise Russian sovereignty over the areas. Russia says the territories are now part of Russia, fall under its nuclear umbrella and will never be returned. Luhansk was once part of the Russian empire but changed hands after the Russian Revolution. It was taken by the Red Army in 1920 and then became part of the Soviet Union in 1922 as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Along with neighbouring Donetsk, Luhansk was the crucible of the conflict which began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine's Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukraine's armed forces in both Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia controls nearly 19% of what is internationally recognised to be Ukraine, including Luhansk, plus over 70% of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and fragments of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Russia takes full control of Ukraine's Luhansk region, Russian-backed official says
FILE PHOTO: Men ride vehicles near a building destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Toshkivka (Toshkovka) in the Luhansk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 17, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File photo MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia has taken full control of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region, more than three years after President Vladimir Putin ordered thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian-backed head of the region told Russian state television. Luhansk, which has an area of 26,700 square km (10,308 square miles), is the first Ukrainian region to fall fully under the established control of Russian forces since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Putin in September 2022 declared that Luhansk - along with the partially controlled Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions - was being incorporated into Russia, a step Western European states said was illegal and that most of the world did not recognise. "The territory of the Luhansk People's Republic is fully liberated - 100%," Leonid Pasechnik, who was born in Soviet Ukraine and is now a Russian-installed official cast by Moscow as the head of the "Luhansk People's Republic", told Russian state television. There was no immediate confirmation from the Russian defence ministry, or comment from Ukraine. Ukraine says that Russia's claims to Luhansk and other areas of what is internationally recognised to be Ukraine are groundless and illegal, and Kyiv has promised to never recognise Russian sovereignty over the areas. Russia says the territories are now part of Russia, fall under its nuclear umbrella and will never be returned. Luhansk was once part of the Russian empire but changed hands after the Russian Revolution. It was taken by the Red Army in 1920 and then became part of the Soviet Union in 1922 as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Along with neighbouring Donetsk, Luhansk was the crucible of the conflict which began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine's Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukraine's armed forces in both Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia controls nearly 19% of what is internationally recognised to be Ukraine, including Luhansk, plus over 70% of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and fragments of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions. (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Lincoln Feast.)
News18
2 days ago
- News18
Russian Sappers Are Clearing Landmines In Donetsk's Russian-Controlled Region Russia Ukraine
Sappers of Russia's armed forces work to clear landmines from the roadside in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region. Mobile App -
The Star
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Top Ukrainian commander sees new assault on key eastern city
A Russian military helicopter flies past a flock of birds in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, a Russian-controlled city of Ukraine, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko (Reuters) -Ukraine's top commander said on Saturday that his forces faced a new onslaught against a key city on the eastern front of its war against Russia, while Moscow said it was making progress in another sector farther southwest. After their initial failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks after the February 2022 invasion, Russian troops have focused on capturing all of Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. The city of Kostiantynivka has been a major target. Ukrainian forces have for months defended the city against fierce assaults, with the regional governor urging remaining residents this week to evacuate as infrastructure breaks down. Top Ukrainian commander Oleksander Syrskyi, writing on Telegram on Saturday, said the area around Kostiantynivka was gripped by heavy fighting. "The enemy is surging towards Kostiantynivka, but apart from sustaining numerous losses, has achieved nothing," Syrskyi said. "The aggressor is trying to break through our defences and advance along three operating sectors." A spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, Viktor Trehubov, told the Ukrinform news agency that Kostiantynivka and the city of Pokrovsk to the west were "the main arena of battles and the Kremlin's strategic ambitions". Syrskyi also said that Ukrainian forces had withstood in the past week a powerful attack near the village of Yablunivka in northeastern Sumy region, where Russian forces have been trying to establish a buffer zone inside the Ukrainian border. Russia's Defence Ministry, in a report earlier in the day, said Moscow's forces had seized the village of Chervona Zirka -- further southwest, near the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk region. Russia's slow advance through eastern Ukraine, with Moscow claiming a string of villages day after day, has resulted in destruction of major cities and infrastructure. Moscow has insisted that progress towards a settlement of the 40-month-old war depends on Ukraine recognising Moscow's control over four Ukrainian regions -- Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Russian forces control about one-fifth of Ukraine's territory, though they do not fully hold any of the four regions. Moscow has said in recent weeks that its troops have made advances in areas adjacent to Dnipropetrovsk region, which lies next to both Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukrainian officials have denied those reports. (Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksander Kozhukhar; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
Japan Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Top Ukrainian commander sees new assault on key eastern city
A Russian military helicopter flies past a flock of birds in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, a Russian-controlled city of Ukraine, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko Ukraine's top commander said on Saturday that his forces faced a new onslaught against a key city on the eastern front of its war against Russia, while Moscow said it was making progress in another sector farther southwest. After their initial failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks after the February 2022 invasion, Russian troops have focused on capturing all of Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. The city of Kostiantynivka has been a major target. Ukrainian forces have for months defended the city against fierce assaults, with the regional governor urging remaining residents this week to evacuate as infrastructure breaks down. Top Ukrainian commander Oleksander Syrskyi, writing on Telegram on Saturday, said the area around Kostiantynivka was gripped by heavy fighting. "The enemy is surging towards Kostiantynivka, but apart from sustaining numerous losses, has achieved nothing," Syrskyi said. "The aggressor is trying to break through our defenses and advance along three operating sectors." A spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, Viktor Trehubov, told the Ukrinform news agency that Kostiantynivka and the city of Pokrovsk to the west were "the main arena of battles and the Kremlin's strategic ambitions". Syrskyi also said that Ukrainian forces had withstood in the past week a powerful attack near the village of Yablunivka in northeastern Sumy region, where Russian forces have been trying to establish a buffer zone inside the Ukrainian border. Russia's Defense Ministry, in a report earlier in the day, said Moscow's forces had seized the village of Chervona Zirka -- further southwest, near the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk region. Russia's slow advance through eastern Ukraine, with Moscow claiming a string of villages day after day, has resulted in destruction of major cities and infrastructure. Moscow has insisted that progress towards a settlement of the 40-month-old war depends on Ukraine recognizing Moscow's control over four Ukrainian regions -- Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Russian forces control about one-fifth of Ukraine's territory, though they do not fully hold any of the four regions. Moscow has said in recent weeks that its troops have made advances in areas adjacent to Dnipropetrovsk region, which lies next to both Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukrainian officials have denied those reports. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
