After reports of a siege of Lisitchansk, Russia said on Sunday it had captured the city and taken control of the Lugansk region, which, with Donetsk province, forms the Donbass in eastern Ukraine. Kiev admits there have been intense battles in the area, but has not commented on Moscow’s announcement.
After failing to capture the capital Kiev at the start of the war, at the end of February, the Russians shifted the focus of the conflict to the declared objective of conquering Lugansk and Donetsk, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting since 2014, when the Kremlin annexed the Crimean peninsula.
Defense Minister Sergei Choigu informed President Vladimir Putin that the region had been “liberated” and that Moscow troops and their allies in the area have “full control over Lisitchansk”.
Ukrainian officials define mentions of liberation as war propaganda and admit only heavy artillery action in residential areas, but analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said “the forces Ukrainians deliberately withdrew from Lisitchansk, resulting in the capture of the city by the Russians on 2 July”.
The statement is based on footage of Russian forces walking through neighborhoods to the north and east of the municipality, suggesting that few or no Ukrainian military personnel remain in the region. The records, they say, include geolocated posts on social media that confirm where the images were taken.
A statement by the governor of Lugansk, Serhi Gaidai, in a Telegram message before Russia announced the takeover of the area, already pointed in the same direction: “The Russians are strengthening their positions in the region, the city is on fire. inexplicable brutal tactics”.
On the other hand, also this Sunday (3), Moscow accused Kiev of having attacked the Russian city of Belgorod, about 40 km north of the Ukrainian border, in an action that, according to the local government, left three dead and destroyed houses. Russian parliamentarian Andrei Klichas called for a stern response.
According to the region’s governor, Viacheslav Gladkov, five homes were destroyed in the city and more than 30 homes and at least 11 buildings were damaged. “The sound was so loud that I jumped, woke up very scared and started screaming,” a resident of Belgorod told Reuters news agency, adding that the explosions took place in the early hours of the morning, around 3 am local time.
Moscow accuses Kiev of carrying out several attacks in Belgorod and in areas close to the countries’ borders. Ukrainians do not admit responsibility for the actions, but say such incidents represent retaliation.
As of press time, Ukraine has not commented, and Reuters has not been able to independently verify the allegations. In the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, occupied by soldiers from Moscow, Ukrainian forces also reportedly hit a military base with more than 30 attacks on Sunday, exiled mayor Ivan Fedorov said in a video posted on Telegram. A Russian-placed official in the municipality said several houses were damaged but there were no casualties.
On the Russian side, the Defense Ministry said it had hit parts of the military infrastructure in Kharkiv, a city in northeastern Ukraine where the country’s military has been building concrete barriers after overnight bombings. Dozens of civilians have been injured or killed in the region in recent weeks.
