Russia claims the conquest of the village of Bilogorivka, in the east of the country

Russia announced on Monday May 20 that it had conquered the village of Bilogorivka, one of the last to escape it in the Ukrainian region of Luhansk, which Moscow claims to annex, in the east of the country. “As a result of combat operations, units of the Southern troop group completely liberated the settlement of Bilogorivka in the Luhansk People’s Republic and occupied more favorable positions,” writes the Russian Defense Ministry in a press release.

Ukraine, lacking men and ammunition, is under pressure on a very large part of the front. Russia launched a new offensive in the north of the country on May 10, while continuing to increase attacks in the east. The village of Bilogorivka is located in the Luhansk region, which is almost completely under Russian control.

In addition to Crimea annexed in 2014, Moscow claims the annexation of four other regions of Ukraine. Luhansk is the only one that the Russians control almost entirely. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday he feared that the assault launched on May 10 in the north on the Kharkiv region could be the “first wave” of a much broader offensive.

Beyond its ground assaults, Russia continues its daily bombing of Ukrainian cities. A man was killed Monday in a bombing in Kherson, capital of the eponymous region of southern Ukraine which the Kremlin claims annexation.