Conflicts

Russia appears to be closing in on one of its objectives in Ukraine, according to a recent report from the Institute for the Study of War.

As the conflict between the neighboring nations approaches its third year, Russian forces now reportedly control nearly all of the Luhansk region, as noted by Angelica Evans, a researcher with the U.S.-based institute.

Luhansk, along with Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, are the four regions Russia illegally annexed in September 2022. However, Moscow does not fully control any of these territories.

Since 2014, Crimea has also been under Russian control, though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his intent to reclaim it.

While Ukrainian forces recently made a swift incursion into Russian territory in the Kursk region, Russian troops have regained ground on Ukraine’s eastern front in the meantime.

"Seizing the remainder of Luhansk Oblast is likely mainly an informational objective and the Kremlin will almost certainly make outsized claims about the seizure of the oblast," Angelica Evans said.

"The Kremlin will likely oversell the seizure of Luhansk Oblast within the Russian and global information space as a major battlefield victory," she added to Newsweek.

(QG - Source : Institute for the Study of War / Newsweek / Picture: © Pixabay)