Ukraine withdraws from battered Lysychansk city; Russia claims major victory

4/7/2022 12:02

        Ukraine's forces have withdrawn from the bombed-out city of Lysychansk, prompting Russia to claim full control of the eastern Luhansk region, a key Kremlin
        war goal, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed to regain the lost territory.
        
        Ukraine on Sunday said the tactical withdrawal would save the lives of its soldiers who would regroup, to launch a counter offensive with the help of long-range Western weapons.
        
        But Moscow said the capture of Lysychansk less than a week after taking neighbouring Sievierdonetsk meant it had "liberated" Luhansk. It said it will give Luhansk to the self-proclaimed Russian-backed Luhansk People's Republic whose independence it recognised on the eve of the war.
        
        The battlefield focus now shifts to the neighbouring Donetsk region, where Kyiv still controls swathes of territory.