Latest Russia-Ukraine war news: Live updates
Ukrainian forces withdrew from Lysychansk on Sunday, allowing Russia to claim control of the city that had been Kyiv’s final foothold in the eastern Luhansk region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to return, “thanks to our tactics, thanks to the increase in the supply of modern weapons. Ukraine does not give anything up.”
Kyiv’s loss means Moscow has seized essentially all of Luhansk and can move its sights toward neighboring Donetsk. The Kremlin has targeted the larger Donbas area, which includes both Luhansk and Donetsk, in the latest phase of its invasion. Russian forces are likely to turn their focus toward the cities of Siversk, Bakhmut or Slovyansk next, according to military analysts. Fighting in the east will probably remain “grinding and attritional,” Britain’s Defense Ministry said Monday.
As Kyiv labors to hold ground, senior Ukrainian officials will gather with European leaders in Switzerland for the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which begins Monday. Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, are set to separately address the conference virtually.
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