Putin claims victory in Luhansk, forcing Ukrainian troops to withdraw

Russia may be succeeding in its advancement across Ukraine’s east, but Volodymyr Zelensky has made it clear that his troops will not hold back.

As the war in Ukraine intensifies, Russia has claimed another region of the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in Luhansk, a province in Ukraine’s east, after his troops forced Ukraine fighters out of their last stronghold in the city of Lysychansk.

Putin made the announcement after a televised meeting where Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported the news to the Russian leader.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai told the Associated Press that Ukrainian forces withdrew from the region to avoid “encirclement” and mass casualties.

“We managed to do a centralised withdrawal and evacuate all injured,” Mr Haidai said.

“We took back all the equipment, so from this point withdrawal was organised well.”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has since acknowledged the withdrawal from Luhansk in his nightly video address, but insists the country’s troops will continue to fight their way back.

“If the command of our army withdraws people from certain points of the front where the enemy has the greatest fire superiority … it means only one thing: We will return thanks to our tactics, thanks to the increase in the supply of modern weapons,” Mr Zelensky said.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says his forces will continue to fight despite the setback. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

Russian forces turn to Donetsk

Putin called on the troops “that took part in active hostilities [in Luhansk] and achieved success” to “rest [and] increase their combat capabilities”.

Russia’s military is expected to now turn its attention to adjoining province Donetsk which includes the cities of Siversk and Bakhmut and the village of Fedorivka, a region Putin has sought because of its industrialism.

In the region, there were reports on Sunday of shelling in Ukraine strongholds of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, which saw six people, including a nine-year-old girl, killed and a further 19 people injured.

While Russia continues to make advancements, military analysts have determined that the country’s “manpower” is under threat.

Russian troops may have a huge advantage in terms of firepower but they’re lacking in military personnel, which will in turn slow the progress of the invasion.

According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) project, there’s been more than 10,000 casualties since the war started almost five months ago, with Mariupol, Kharkiv and Bilohorivka recording the most deaths.

Ukrainian soldiers ride a tank on a road of the eastern Luhansk region. (Photo by Anatolii Stepanov / AFP)

Russia investigates torture allegations

Moscow meanwhile said on Tuesday it was investigating the torture of Russian soldiers held prisoner in Ukraine and recently released as part of a prisoner swap with Kyiv in late June.

The Russian Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement that it was “verifying facts of inhuman treatment of Russia soldier prisoners in Ukraine”.

Last week Moscow and Kyiv exchanged 144 prisoners of war each -- the biggest exchange since the start of Moscow’s Ukraine campaign launched on February 24.

The Russian committee said Moscow’s soldiers told investigators about “the violence they had suffered”.

According to its statement, one of the soldiers said Ukrainian medics treated him without anaesthetic and that he was “beaten, tortured with electricity in captivity”.

The soldier allegedly said he was left without food and water for days. Another injured Russian soldier, who had his left amputated, said he was badly beaten and had his wound irritated by Ukrainian medics, the statement said.

The testimonies of the freed Russian soldiers are examples of “violations of the Geneva Convention on prisoners of war”, the Russian committee said

NATO strengthens alliance

The process to ratify Sweden and Finland as the newest members of NATO was formally launched on Tuesday, the military alliance’s chief Jens Stoltenberg said, marking a historic step brought on by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“This is a good day for Finland and Sweden and a good day for NATO,” Stoltenberg told reporters in a joint press statement with the Swedish and Finnish foreign ministers.

“With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger and our people will be even safer as we face the biggest security crisis in decades,” he added

Originally published as Putin claims victory in Luhansk, forcing Ukrainian troops to withdraw