Russia says Moscow now occupies all of Ukraine's Luhansk region, illegally annexed in 2022

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russia-appointed official in Ukraine’s occupied Luhansk region said Monday that Moscow’s forces have overrun all of it — one of four regions Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in September 2022 despite not fully controlling a single one.

If confirmed, that would make Luhansk the first Ukrainian region fully occupied by Russia after more than three years of war and as recent U.S.-led international peace efforts have failed to make progress on halting the fighting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rejected a ceasefire and hasn’t budged from his demands, which include Moscow’s control over the four illegally annexed regions.

There was no immediate comment from Kyiv on the claim made by the Moscow-installed leader of the occupied region, Leonid Pasechnik. In remarks to Russia’s state TV Channel One that aired Monday evening, Pasechnik said he received a report “literally two days ago” saying that “100%” of the region was now under the control of Russian forces.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-germany-d402df83478e83d86b30bd9b942d2532