It is “impossible to say that Lyssytchansk is under Russian control”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, assuring that the fighting continued on the outskirts of this city whose capture was claimed earlier by Moscow.
“There is fighting in the suburbs” of this city, under pressure from Russian troops for several weeks, he added during a press conference in kyiv with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Taking Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine would allow Moscow to control the entire Lugansk region and Russian troops to threaten Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, two major cities in the Ukrainian-controlled Donbass industrial region.
“There are risks that the Lugansk region will be completely occupied. There are risks and we understand that,” added Mr. Zelensky, believing that Lyssytchansk represents “the most difficult and dangerous situation” for Ukraine.
“We don’t have the advantage there, it’s true. It is our weak point but in other points, we are moving forward,” he said.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Sunday that Kremlin forces controlled the entire Lugansk region after conquering Lysytchansk, which has been in the midst of intense fighting for weeks.