Russia claims control on Lysychansk, Ukraine denies

MOSCOW: Russia on Sunday said that its troops along with separatist forces have taken “full control” of the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk, a claim that has been refuted by the Ukrainian side.

“Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin on the ‘liberation’ of the Lugansk (Luhansk) People’s Republic (LPR),” the Russian Defence Ministry announced on Sunday.

“On July 3, 2022, the Russian Minister of Defense, General of the Army Sergey Shoigu reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Putin on the ‘liberation’ of the Lugansk People’s Republic,” the ministry was quoted as saying by Russia’s Tass news agency.

Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesman Yuriy Sak has said that the city of Lysychansk is not under the “full control” of Russian forces, the BBC reported.

However the spokesman added that the situation in the city had been “very intense for quite a while now” with Russian ground forces “attacking the city non-stop”.

Earlier on Sunday, the Russian Defence Ministry had said that its troops have captured the villages surrounding Lysychansk and are now fighting Ukrainian troops inside the city. “Russian troops and units of the Luhansk People’s Republic are fighting inside Lysychansk, completely defeating the encircled enemy.”