Bloody battles rage around Lysychans’k, the last town in the Luhansk region under Kieu control (Image: AP)

Russia claims to have fully occupied the Luhansk region of Ukraine.

If Kyiv confirms it, it will be a symbolic step in the Kremlin’s campaign to annex the eastern part of the country.

Lugansk occupies half of the Donbas region, the traditional Russian-speaking region of Ukraine where Vladimir Putin is fighting to “liberate”.

The fate of the region was tied to the Battle of Lysychans’k, and fierce battles raged throughout the district for months.

According to reports, Ukrainian soldiers recently began withdrawing from the last city under their control as a result of heavy shelling by the invading forces.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that the Kremlin and separatist forces had “liberated” the area, the Pentagon said.

The Ukrainian government has not confirmed this information, but authorities have previously warned that the situation there is dangerous.

Locals take care of houses that were badly damaged by the Ukraine-Russia conflict in Sibelodnetsk, Luhansk, Ukraine, on July 1, 2022. Reuters/Alexander Elmochenko

A woman walking past a damaged house in Severodonetsk, one of the last areas to fall to Russian troops (Image: Reuters)

Its governor, Serhii Heidai, wrote in a telegram this morning: “The occupiers threw all their power into Lysychans’k.

They attacked the city with immeasurable brutal tactics.

“They are suffering heavy losses, but they are making stubborn progress. They have set foot in the city.”

Russian officials prematurely declared that they had taken Mariupol, but Ukrainian resistance continued at the Azovstal smelter.

It is not clear if pockets of Ukrainian soldiers remain around the town of Lysychansik or if a complete withdrawal has been ordered.

On May 26, 2022, during a conflict between Ukraine and Russia in the town of Popasna in Ukraine's Luhansk region, pro-Russian military personnel drive a tank down the street past a destroyed house. Reuters/Alexander Elmochenko

Fierce fighting has intensified over the months in the Lugansk region (Image: Reuters)

Russian and proxy troops have made steady progress in the eastern part of the country since abandoning their attempt to occupy Kyiv.

If Luhansk collapses, their exhausted war machines will focus on occupying the other half of Donetsk’s Donbus region.

Forces loyal to the Kremlin have controlled part of the territory since 2014, and about half has been under control since the start of the operation on February 24.

The occupation of Lysychans’k opens up the western route to Donetsk, and the city of Slovyansk could be the next main target.

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