Russia claims total control of the Luhansk region of Ukraine for the first time since the invasion

Russia said on Monday evening to have captured the entire Luhansk region of Ukraine, marking the first time since the start of its illegal invasion three years ago that it could well occupy an entire region.

Fox News Digital could not independently verify the complaint made by Leonid Pasechnik, the chief of Luhansk, appointed by Moscow, that Russian president Vladimir Putin illegally annexed in 2022 with the regions of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

kyiv has not yet commented on Paschnik’s statements published Monday evening during the floor with the Russian state television channel, in which he declared that “literally two days ago”, he had received a report according to which “100%” of the region was now fully occupied, first reported the Associated Press.

Ukrainian Infantry Man Positions Forward in the forest on November 10, 2024, in the Serebryansky reserve, located about 8 kilometers southwest of Kreminna in the Oblast of Luhansk, in Ukraine. (Kostiiantyn Liberov / Libkos / Getty images)

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Russia is still evaluated to occupy less than 20% of Ukraine, which includes Luhansk as well as 70% of the three other regions which it claimed to have annexed, according to Reuters – although it is not difficult if this figure also includes the occupation of Russia of Crimea.

Reports showed on Monday that Russia had raised some 50,000 soldiers on the northern border of Ukraine near the Sumy region, arousing concerns that Putin could plan another major offensive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had been transferred to the region a week ago in preparation for a Russian offensive.

“The Russian plan for an offensive in Sumy is not achieved, and it is thanks to each Ukrainian unit operating in the region,” he said in a Social media message on Telegram.

Asked about Russia’s plans on Tuesday, President Donald Trump told journalists: “We will see what’s going on, I look at him very closely.”

Over the past two months, Moscow has considerably intensified his war efforts in Ukraine despite Trump’s attempts to push a ceasefire and the end of the war.

While Ukraine has accepted Washington’s ceasefire proposals, Putin categorically rejected all attempts and failed deadlines set out by Trump.

In June, Russia launched more than 5,300 Shahed type drones in a series of mass attacks that have become more frequent and more fatal, the kyiv Independent reported, citing the Ukrainian Air Force.

The 5,337 Kamikaze drones shot Ukraine last month would have broken Moscow Previous record of 4,1900 drones Licensed in March – a record that coincided with the renewal of the war against Iran as Israel, then the United States, targeted Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure in June.

While the European nations remained firmly in their support for Ukraine, the support of Washington since Trump re-bordered the office in January diverted Biden’s administration when the United States turned his attention to the War of Israel in Gaza, returning hostages and approaching Iran’s nuclear threat.

A view after a Russian attack that struck a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine on June 7, 2025. (APTO Photo / Andrii Marienko)

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The attempts led by the United States to negotiate a ceasefire from Ukraine-Russia seem to have blocked, and little communication was reported between Washington and Moscow after Trump’s previous call with Putin in mid-June.

Trump maintains that Putin is looking for a way to finish the war and told journalists at a NATO press conference last week, “I know one thing – he would like to settle.”

“He would like to get out of this thing. He’s a mess for him,” he added.

But NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, who managed to establish a positive relationship with the American president despite Trump’s previous criticism of the Alliance, warned that he believes that Putin has ambitions beyond Ukraine and could attack other parts of Europe in three to five years.

President Donald Trump speaks with secretary general Mark Rutte when he arrives for a NATO summit in Hague, the Netherlands, June 25, 2025. (Piroschka van de Wouw, swimming pool photo via AP)

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Trump gave Putin a period of two weeks in May to show that he was serious at the idea of ​​putting an end to war, or if he “taps (the United States).

But the deadline has long passed and the president has not specified what his next steps will be.

The White House did not immediately answer questions from Fox News Digital on what the president plans to do then with regard to American attempts to end the Russian war in Ukraine, or when Trump plans to speak with Putin.