Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv rejects Russia’s claim to have taken full control of Luhansk region
Ukraine’s military has rejected Russia’s claim to have taken full control of the eastern Luhansk region, saying there have been no significant battlefield changes in the area.
Luhansk is one of two industrialised regions that make up the Donbas. It has been almost entirely occupied by Russia since the start of the war, while Ukraine still holds a relatively large stretch of neighbouring Donetsk.
The Russian defence ministry claimed on Wednesday that its forces had finally wrested control of the small sliver of land that had remained beyond their reach since 2022.
The Kremlin demanded Ukrainian forces withdraw from the Donbas as a whole in order to end the “hot phase” of the war. Kyiv has dismissed the idea of ceding so much territory as absurd.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has threatened to stop supplying weapons for Ukraine if his European allies do not join a new “coalition of the willing” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, people aware of the discussions told the Financial Times.
European nations have repeatedly resisted Trump’s demands for support in the Middle East beyond defensive missions, and said the Iran conflict was “not our war”.
