Lugansk '100% liberated', under Russia's full control: Pasechnik
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Kiev’s forces had maintained control over approximately 100 square kilometers in the northwest part of the Lugansk People's Republic.
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Head of the Lugansk People's Republic Leonid Pasechnik (Social media)
The Russian military has reportedly taken full control of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), local governor Leonid Pasechnik announced Monday during a live broadcast on Russia’s Channel One.
“Just two days ago, a report came in that the territory of the Luhansk People’s Republic had been fully liberated, 100%,” Pasechnik said.
However, the Russian Defense Ministry has yet to officially confirm the governor’s statement.
During the summer offensive of 2022, Russian forces captured the two largest Ukrainian-held cities in the region, Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, and subsequently secured the surrounding areas. Since then, the front line within the LPR has remained mostly static.
Kiev’s forces had maintained control over approximately 100 square kilometers in the northwest part of the LPR, including an area north of the town of Makeevka, which was once home to several villages now abandoned and destroyed, RT reported.
Additionally, according to RT, Kiev has long held the Serebryanskoye forestry, a heavily wooded region north of the Seversky Donets River, which serves as the natural boundary between the LPR and the neighboring Donetsk People’s Republic.
Kiev's losses on multiple fronts
As part of the ongoing battles on multiple fronts, Russia's Tsentr (Center) group of forces has eliminated up to 430 Ukrainian soldiers over 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to 430 servicepeople, six combat armored vehicles, three pickups, and an artillery piece, the ministry said in a statement.
The Zapad (West) group of forces eliminated more than 230 Ukrainian soldiers, while the Sever (North) group eliminated up to 220 Ukrainian troops, the ministry revealed, adding that the Yug (South) group has eliminated over 210 Ukrainian soldiers.
Additionally, the Russian Armed Forces have attacked an oil loading terminal providing fuel to the Ukrainian naval forces, the statement read.
Putin says Russia, Ukraine peace proposals contradictory
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine remain stalled, with each side’s demands “absolutely contradictory,” following two failed rounds of negotiations.
During recent talks in Istanbul, negotiators exchanged memoranda outlining their visions for ending the war, now in its third year. However, aside from agreeing to large-scale prisoner swaps, the meetings yielded no meaningful progress toward a ceasefire.
"As for the memorandums, as expected, nothing surprising happened... these are two absolutely contradictory memorandums," Putin said during a press conference in Minsk, Belarus. "That's why negotiations are being organised and conducted, in order to find a path to bringing them closer together."
At the talks, Russia has demanded that Ukraine surrender more territory and renounce Western military assistance, conditions Kiev flatly rejects as unacceptable.
Putin has intensified aerial attacks as his forces continue advancing beyond the five Ukrainian regions Moscow claims to have annexed.
Following limited progress during the June 2 peace talks, Putin confirmed that both sides would maintain contact, especially after implementing a prisoner exchange deal involving over 1,000 wounded, ill, or young soldiers. He also stated Russia is prepared to return the bodies of 3,000 fallen Ukrainian troops.
