The whole territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic has been wrested from Ukrainian control, Moscow says
Donbass republic fully liberated – Russian defense minister
The last remnants of Ukrainian forces have been driven out of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced on Sunday. He reported the news to President Vladimir Putin, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Shoigu said Russian troops and Donbass forces had completely seized Lisichansk, the last major city which had remained under Ukrainian control since 2014, when the LPR declared its independence shortly after a coup in Kiev.
Russia and Ukraine reported heavy fighting around Lisichansk earlier this week, with the most fierce combat occurring at the city’s oil refinery.
News of the capture of Lisichansk comes after Ukrainian troops retreated from Severodonetsk, a nearby city on the opposite side of the Seversky Donets River, last week. The fighting for Severodonetsk had lasted for several months.
Strategic Donbass city 'freed' – Russia
Read more Strategic Donbass city 'freed' – Russia
Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”
In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
MoD: Shoigu Briefs Putin on Liberation of Lugansk People's Republic
9 hours ago (Updated: 9 hours ago)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian President Vladimir Putin - Sputnik International, 1920, 03.07.2022
© Sputnik / Kirill Kallinikov / Go to the photo bank
Subscribe
US
India
Global
The news comes amid reports of Russian troops entering Lisichansk – the last major city in the Lugansk People's Republic under Ukrainian forces' control.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has briefed President Vladimir Putin on the complete liberation of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), which Moscow recognized earlier this year, from Ukrainian forces.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the LPR's liberation was completed with the fall of the city of Lisichansk, as well as several nearby towns, such as Belogorovka, Novodruzhesk, Maloryazantsevo and Belaya Gora, which are now under the control of the Russian and LPR Armed Forces. The two states' troops liberated 182 square kilometers of LPR lands from Kiev-controlled forces, the ministry added.
There were several reports that Russian forces had taken Lisichansk, the last major stronghold of Ukrainian troops in the LPR, on 2 July, with Kiev denying it despite admitting that the situation was severe. However, official confirmation arrived on 3 July.
Ukrainian troops in the city were cut off from supplies earlier this week as Russian and LPR service personnel surrounded Lisichansk.
The liberation of the LPR and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), which had been declared within the borders of the Lugansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine in 2014, is among the key goals of the Russian special military operation in the country. A significant portion of the DPR territory still remains under Ukraine's control.
Chechen forces near Lisichansk, LPR - Sputnik International, 1920, 02.07.2022
LIVE UPDATES: Lisichansk Under Control of Allied Forces, Sputnik Correspondent Reports
Yesterday
President Putin launched the operation on 24 February, also claiming that the demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine were among his goals. The announcement of the operation followed Moscow's decision to recognize the independence of the then-self-proclaimed people's republics in Donbass after eight years of unsuccessful attempts to re-integrate them into Ukraine under the provisions of the 2015 Minsk Agreements.
