Russia announced on Monday that it had captured the village of Pylochorivka, one of the last villages to escape from the Ukrainian region of Luhansk, which Moscow claims annexed. “As a result of combat operations, units of the Southern Troop Group have completely liberated the settlement of Filokorivka in the Luhansk People’s Republic and occupied the most favorable positions,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
In addition to Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, Moscow claims to annex four other regions of Ukraine. Only Lugansk remains under Russian control.
Ukraine, short of men and ammunition, is under pressure over a large swath of the front, with Russia launching a new offensive from the north on May 10, while continuing to escalate attacks in the east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that he feared the attack could be the “first wave” of a much wider attack.
Two civilians were killed in the blast
In addition to its ground attacks, Russia continues its daily bombing of Ukrainian cities. One person was killed on Monday in Kherson, the capital of the eponymous region of southern Ukraine that the Kremlin claims to have annexed. In the Zaporizhia region, another person died after an attack in a village.
The Ukrainian Air Force indicated on Monday that it had shot down twenty-nine drones launched by Russia during a new night strike.
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