Breaking news and news from Russia’s war in Ukraine

In this photo provided by the Luhansk Region Military Administration, damaged residential buildings are seen in Lysychansk, Luhansk Region, Ukraine, early on Sunday, July 3, 2022. (Photo: Luhansk Region Military Administration via AP) Luhansk is one of two regions that make up Donbas, the eastern part of Ukraine where a conflict between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists began in 2014. The area has become the centerpiece of the Russian president’s military ambition Vladimir Putin in Ukraine after his troops failed to take Kyiv earlier this year. The fall of Lysychansk brings Russia closer to achieving its goal of seizing Donbas. “After heavy fighting for Lysychansk, the Ukrainian Defense Forces were forced to withdraw from their occupied positions and lines,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Twitter on Sunday. Pro-Russian separatists in the area had already claimed victory in the battle for Lysychansk. Leonid Pasechnik, the leader of the self-proclaimed Russian-backed Luhansk People’s Republic, declared the Luhansk region “liberated.” Only Russia and Syria recognize the Luhansk People’s Republic as independent. Ukraine and its Western allies consider it part of Ukrainian territory, currently under Russian occupation. A video shared by Russian state-run media outlet Ria Novosti on Saturday purports to show residents installing the former Soviet Union flag at the War Memorial in Lysychansk. Luhansk’s fate: The Institute for the Study of War said Russia is likely to establish control over the rest of the Luhansk region in the coming days. After that, the institute said in its latest update, Russian troops will likely focus on Ukrainian positions in Siversk, west of Lysychansk, before turning inland to Sloviansk and Bakhmut.