Russian Army Confirms Complete Capture Of Lugansk Region

File image.

Russia’s ⁠Ministry of Defense announced on April 1 that its forces had taken full control of the Lugansk region, in another blow to Ukraine.

“Units of the ‘West’ Group of Forces have completed the liberation of the Lugansk People’s Republic,” the ministry said in its daily briefing.

Lugansk and Donetsk make up the wider Donbass area. More than 99 percent of Lugansk has long been under the control of the Russian military, which also holds around three-quarters of Donetsk.

Last December, the West Group of Forces accelerated operations to push Kiev forces out of their last positions in Lugansk. Russian troops pushed forward, storming Novojehorivka, and leaving only Tverdokhlibove and some farms near Nadiya and Hrekivka under Ukrainian control.

While the ministry has not yet provided any details, its latest announcement suggests that Tverdokhlibove and all nearby areas are now under the control of the Russian military.

The announcement came as the Kremlin ⁠reiterated once again its demand for a complete Ukrainian withdrawal from the Donabass.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should have taken the difficult decision to withdraw his forces ⁠from the area “yesterday” to end what Russia calls the “hot phase” of the war.

“As for the two months… the issue is not about two months. Zelenskyy must make the decision today for Ukrainian troops to leave the territory of Donbas and withdraw beyond the administrative borders of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” Peskov said.

“This has been stated repeatedly. Ideally, Zelenskyy should have made such a decision yesterday — as we have said — to take responsibility and make this difficult decision,” he added.

Peskov explained that the pause in peace talks with Ukraine is due to the involvement of American negotiators in the Middle East conflict.

“For obvious reasons, they cannot currently be actively engaged in the trilateral negotiation process on Ukrainian matters,” he noted.

A day earlier, Zelenskyy claimed Russia had given the United States an ultimatum, vowing to harden its terms for a peace settlement ‌if Kiev forces did not withdraw from the Donbass within two months. He added that Ukraine wanted a diplomatic solution,‌ but ‌would only agree to a ceasefire at the current front lines.

The complete loss of Lugansk will further weaken Ukraine’s positions in the peace talks, and could even expose Zelenskyy to more pressure from the U.S.

Only a small swath of the Donbass in Donetsk remains under Ukrainian control, and the Russian military is actively advancing there, mainly around the city of Lyman and towards the city of Sloviansk. Kiev forces seem incapable of halting Russian advance there, and by the end of spring in two months, the situation will become critical in several sections.

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