Moscow / Kyiv – Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed that Luhansk, a province in Ukraine’s Donbas region, is under complete control of the Russian military. He told during a discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Defence Ministry said. On Saturday, information surfaced that the Russian army had seized the city of Lysychansk, considered decisive in Luhansk. Against this backdrop, the information provided by Russia about its control over Luhansk becomes significant.
Moreover, Russia announced the beginning of the second phase of its military campaign in Ukraine two months ago. A senior Russian military official had claimed that there were plans to gain control of the area from Kharkiv to Odessa at this instant. Russian sources had indicated that the seizure of Ukraine’s Donbas region would be a priority. After that, in the past few weeks, Russian defence forces had tremendously increased the intensity of their attacks.
Besides, the Donbas region involves the two provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk. Parts of these provinces were seized by pro-Russian groups in 2014. However, in the last month and a half, the Russian military has seized a large part of the region. For this, cannons, tanks, rockets, missiles and air strikes were used extensively. The battle between the two cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk proved decisive for the seizure of Luhansk province. Some indications gaining control over Luhansk could be a decisive phase in the Russian Defence Forces’ actions.
Following the seizure of Luhansk, Russia has launched heavy attacks on the cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Bakhmut in the Donetsk province. Gaining control of these three cities is said to be essential for the seizure of Donetsk. However, the battle for the three towns will not be as easy as the capture of Luhansk, Ukrainian officials have warned. Ukrainian officials have said that Ukrainian forces will succeed in holding off Russian defence forces longer on the strength of foreign weapons assistance.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that Ukraine has launched attacks on cities along Russia’s borders. Russian sources claimed that Ukraine launched a missile attack on the Russian city of Belgorod. Three people were killed, and several others were injured in the attack. While the news of the attack on the Russian town surfaced, Belarus claimed it had repulsed a missile attack on Ukraine.
Click below to express your thoughts and views on this news:
 |
https://twitter.com/WW3Info |
 |
https://www.facebook.com/WW3Info |
