MOSCOW, April 1 (Reuters) - The Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had taken full control of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, suggesting they had wrested control of a
Russia says its troops have taken full control of Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine
Russian Military Advances and Regional Control
Russian Defence Ministry's Announcement
MOSCOW, April 1 (Reuters) - The Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had taken full control of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, suggesting they had wrested control of a small sliver of land which had remained beyond their reach since 2022.
Verification and Ukrainian Response
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield report and a Ukrainian military spokesperson said there had been no battlefield changes in the area in the last six months.
Background on Luhansk Region
More than 99% of Luhansk, one of four Ukrainian regions Russia claimed as its own in 2022 - something Kyiv and most Western countries have rejected as an illegal land grab - has long been under Russian control.
Moscow's Terminology and Regional Significance
"Units of the ‘West’ military grouping have completed the liberation of the Luhansk People's Republic," the Defence Ministry said in a statement, using Moscow's preferred name for the region.
Luhansk is one of two regions - along with Donetsk - which make up the wider industrialised Donbas area.
Kremlin's Demands and Diplomatic Implications
Withdrawal Demands
The Kremlin on Wednesday reiterated its demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the part of Donetsk which Moscow does not control to end what it called the "hot phase" of the war, a demand Kyiv has repeatedly dismissed as absurd.
Statements from Kremlin Officials
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told a Russian television interviewer on Wednesday that a decision by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to pull out troops from all of Donbas would help resolve outstanding diplomatic issues.
"If he took the decision to pull out troops and if we then verified that he had withdrawn the troops, then prospects would, of course, open up for resolving many issues, including the question of ending military action," Ushakov said.
Other Claimed Russian Gains
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had also taken control of the village of Verkhnya Pysarivka in Ukraine's Kharkiv region and of Boikove in the Zaporizhzhia region in southeastern Ukraine. Reuters could not independently verify those battlefield assertions.
(Reporting by Reuters Moscow BureauAdditional reporting by Olena Harmash in Kyiv Writing by Andrew OsbornEditing by Mark Trevelyan, Andrew Heavens, Ron Popeski and Deepa Babington)
