April 1, 2026, 2:24 p.mApril 1, 2026, 2:24 p.m
According to information from Moscow, Russia’s military has taken over the Ukrainian region of Luhansk.
“Units of Army Group West have completed the liberation of the Luhansk People’s Republic,” the Defense Ministry said, according to the Russian state news agency Tass. There was initially no comment from the Ukrainian side.
Russia wants to take over the Ukrainian region of Luhansk.Image: www.imago-images.de
On maps from Ukrainian military observers, a small part of the Luhansk region around the village of Novoyehorivka remained under Ukrainian control. The occupation authorities had already claimed last summer that the eastern Ukrainian region had been completely conquered.
The Luhansk region had already partially come under the control of Moscow-backed separatists in 2014. Three days before the start of Russia’s large-scale war of aggression, Moscow recognized the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent states, despite major international protests. The Russians then managed to occupy most of the Luhansk region within a few months. During their counteroffensive in autumn 2022, the Ukrainians recaptured some areas of land in the north of Luhansk.
Kremlin spokesman: Zelensky should withdraw troops from Donbass
The success story from Moscow comes on the day that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj announced a video conversation with US representatives. Zelensky had said that Russia wanted Ukraine to withdraw from Donbass – the Luhansk and Donetsk regions – within two months.
According to Tass, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov now said that it was not a matter of two months, but that Zelensky had to make the decision today that the Ukrainian military would withdraw from Donbass. The withdrawal from the Donetsk region could end the hot phase of the war, said Peskov.
With Western help, Ukraine has been defending itself against a large-scale Russian invasion for more than four years. Moscow has so far insisted on a list of maximum demands. Most recently, Moscow and Kyiv negotiated directly with each other under the mediation of the USA. (hkl/sda/dpa)