Symbol of resistance
Russia reports capture of Ukrainian bastion
May 20, 2024, 7:06 p.m
The Ukrainian army has been under heavy pressure for weeks. There is a lack of ammunition and Russia is increasing its attacks in Kharkiv. The Luhansk region is now said to be completely under Russian control after the fall of a Ukrainian resistance bastion.
Russia has announced the capture of one of the last villages under Ukrainian control in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, which Moscow has declared annexed. As a result of fighting, “the units of the Southern Group of Forces completely liberated the town of Bilohorivka in the Luhansk People’s Republic and occupied more advantageous positions,” the Russian Defense Ministry said. Bilohorivka, inhabited by around 800 people before the conflict, was a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in the Luhansk region.
In February 2022, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin initially recognized the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states and then began his war against Ukraine under the pretext of protecting Russian citizens there. Gaining complete control of these areas has long been a priority for the Kremlin.
The Ukrainian army has been under intense pressure over the past two weeks: fending off a new Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region while also struggling with ammunition shortages at the front. Moscow says it has made a number of advances in the past week.
Russia began its war of aggression against Ukraine more than two years ago and regularly shells civilian objects in the hinterland, resulting in deaths and injuries. But there are also repeated victims of Ukrainian shelling in Russian-controlled territory.