The information about Luhansk comes from Leonid Pasetjnik, who has been appointed as the Russian governor of the occupation government. They have not been confirmed by independent sources, nor has evidence been presented to support the Russian claim.
Luhansk is one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022, without having taken full control of them. If the information is confirmed, Luhansk would become the first of them to be completely occupied by Russia after more than three years of war.
Kyiv has not commented on the Russian claims.
That Russia is advancing is confirmed, however, by the news agency AFP's analysis of information from the US-based think tank Institute for the study of war (ISW). According to ISW, Russia's long-range drone attacks on the neighboring country increased by 37 percent in June, compared to the previous month. In total, over 5,400 such drones are said to have been launched in June.
In parallel, it is reported that Russia has made its largest territorial advance in Ukraine since November, with nearly 590 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory said to have been captured.
ISW is affiliated with the US military and is funded by suppliers to the US military. The information has not been verified by other sources.
