Donbas
If confirmed, Russia’s complete seizure of Luhansk would provide its troops with a stronger base from which to press their advance in the Donbas.
"There is still an opportunity for the evacuation of the wounded, communication with the Ukrainian military and local residents,” said Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai.
Ukraine is losing between 100 and 200 soldiers a day, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told the BBC, as Russia has “thrown pretty much everything non-nuclear at the front.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says no one knows how long the war in his country will last.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Russian forces, meanwhile, worked toward a full takeover of Mariupol, which has been largely reduced to rubble since the start of the war.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said he hadn’t expected the Russian offensive to “drag on this way,” in an interview with The Associated Press.
The British Ministry of Defense update points out that Russia's offensive has definitely not gone as planned, almost eight weeks into the war.
Ukraine’s ability to bog Russia down has been on display at Mariupol, where a siege since the early days of the war has flattened much of the city but not yet resulted in a full victory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russians have begun their offensive to take control of eastern Ukraine, and it could be a seismic battle.
Moscow has declared the capture of the Donbas to be its main goal in the war since its attempt to seize the capital, Kyiv, failed.