located about 70 kilometers northwest of Donetsk remains one of the most fiercely contested sectors of the front where Russia has concentrated its main offensive efforts since March  (Updated:  May 6, 2025 11:41 am)Ukraine's drones target Moscow second night in a row, Russian official claims, ahead of Victory Day parade. Debris from one of the drones reportedly fell on the Kashirskoye Highway The reported attack comes just days before Russia's Victory Day parade and three-day "truce." Vice President Mike Pence said Putin "only understands power." About 800 million euros ($905 million) will be allocated for the acquisition and installation of anti-tank mines to deter potential aggression  (Updated:  May 6, 2025 9:36 am)War analysisFrance is sending Ukraine more AASM Hammer bombs — here's what they can do Polish President Andrzej Duda said the United States has tools that can effectively influence the Kremlin arguing that only President Donald Trump has real leverage over Russian President Vladimir Putin The number includes 1,430 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day "To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement" by Benjamin Nathans which covers dissent in the Soviet Union and Russia today Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on May 5 announced they had facilitated Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash's escape from Russia to France after she fled house arrest on April 21 A Russian drone attack on Odesa Oblast on May 5 killed one and caused damage to local infrastructure "We appreciate that Germany plays a pivotal role in supporting Ukraine throughout the years of war Ukraine is also grateful for your personal commitment," President Volodymyr Zelensky said MPs will be able to ask questions and learn more about the details of the agreement in meetings with Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko May 6-7 MP Serhii Sobolev told the news outlet Suspilne The ratification vote is scheduled for May 8 Attacks against the border villages of Bilopillia and Vorozhba damaged civilian infrastructure and triggered emergency evacuations the regional military administration reported by Abbey FenbertA transformer cabinet in flames along a railway in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast on April 27 (Atesh / Telegram)The Atesh partisan group sabotaged a railway in occupied Luhansk Oblast the group claimed in a Telegram post on April 27 Operatives with the group destroyed a transformer cabinet on a railway near the town of Stanytsia Luhanska, Atesh said Occupying Russian troops reportedly use the railroad to transport military personnel and supplies The sabotage operation disrupted Russian supply lines and led to delays in the delivery of equipment and spare parts The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims Luhansk Oblast remains almost entirely occupied by Russian forces. It is one of five partially occupied Ukrainian territories at the center of ongoing U.S.-brokered ceasefire negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent and playwright with an MFA from Boston University Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011 Ukraine — Ivan Sarancha was 7 when Ukrainian literature and history classes disappeared from his school That was in 2014 after Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea and began to foment separatist unrest in his eastern Donbas region of Ukraine "I began to develop critical thinking," says Sarancha "I watched the Russian news and compared it with Ukrainian and American news that I could see using a VPN [an online virtual private network] And I figured out what was true and what was false That's when Sarancha also began to think about running away from occupied territory to free Ukraine The story of this shy 18-year-old's escape from enemy territory to what he calls "the country and culture of his birth" has turned him into a media star and is inspiring a war-weary nation It's also giving Ukrainians a rare glimpse at life in a region that has long been cut off long-haired youth smiles and offers a soft "hullo" — the extent of his English — when he meets NPR in Kyiv He says he now feels uncomfortable speaking Russian — spoken in his hometown of Luhansk— preferring instead to speak Ukrainian "as a matter of principle." He's standing in front of the apartment building where he is staying with other Ukrainians who have fled towns along the front line He says he took big risks to leave a largely peaceful home with his parents Much of his short life has been under the shadow of Putin's war on Ukraine became gray zones when Kremlin-backed separatists declared independence from Ukraine in 2014 and held referendums to proclaim the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics Sarancha says he was too young to realize that provoking chaos and instability in Ukraine was Putin's revenge for the pro-European uprising in Kyiv's Maidan Square months earlier known as "the Revolution of Dignity." Sarancha says an atmosphere of fear pervades everything in his hometown of Luhansk the capital of the region of the same name "There is basically no political or public activity because any opinion for or against anything could get you in trouble," he says Sarancha says people are most afraid of being taken to a place known as "the basement" for interrogation He says his hometown changed dramatically after the full-scale invasion and for the first time we had traffic jams," Sarancha says I counted more than a hundred Russian flags along the main street There were even flags with Putin's face on them." He says most young people his age support Ukraine over Russia — but would never openly talk about it Though sometimes people will give Russians wrong directions as an act of personal defiance And he began to speak Ukrainian — though only with his internet friends It had become too dangerous to speak Ukrainian in public "They would have beaten me and taken me to the basement first by the police and then by the [Russian] Federal Security Service," he says they believe the falsehood that Ukraine staged the massacres in Bucha and made fake videos to sway global opinion even though it's well documented that Russian forces carried out the killings As he began to entertain the idea of escaping Sarancha for the first time noticed flyers on a wall that said "We help people leave for Ukraine from Luhansk and Donetsk." "They were like ordinary advertisements and I saw some of the numbers were torn off so I realized there are maybe a lot of people who want to leave and I never realized that before," he says there is a whole network of organizations helping people flee from Russian occupied territory called "Helping to Leave." She is Russian but says she can't give her last name because it's dangerous work The Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories are now separated from Ukraine by the front line you have to pass through Russia or a third country such as Belarus That means going through an extensive interrogation and search process on the Russian border known as "filtration." your belongings and often look for a reason to detain you It's a very dangerous process and not everyone is allowed to leave." Kate says it's becoming more and more difficult to get out of Russian-occupied Ukraine Sarancha began watching videos of how other people had made it through filtration to prepare mentally He realized his phone was full of pro-Ukrainian information So he bought a new one and filled it with pro-Russian pictures and messages He told his parents he would be 18 soon and wanted to go somewhere to celebrate — his first solo trip His parents would not allow him to travel to Moscow but finally agreed he could spend a few days in Rostov-on-Don Sarancha planned to travel on to Moscow and Belarus where there is a humanitarian corridor allowing entry into Ukraine Sarancha says his plans were further complicated by his short time window "If you're not 18 you can't cross the border into Belarus without a certificate from your parents," he says But to leave Luhansk without any problems he needed to be 17 — and below Russian military draft age But I pulled myself together and decided to go all the way." When he arrived in Rostov-on-Don he checked into a hotel for the day advised doing so because his mother had asked to see pictures of his room Sarancha took pictures of himself in the room and in different changes of clothing at popular spots around the city He sent them to his parents so they wouldn't suspect anything That evening he boarded a bus for the 600-mile The next day when Sarancha arrived in Moscow "My parents are the kind of people who like to drink often," Sarancha says "So they had already begun celebrating my birthday go ahead and celebrate and don't worry about me since you're having fun." He'd brought food along but couldn't eat a thing he was so anxious He says his biggest fear was that his own parents would find out the truth and alert the authorities he headed straight for the Ukrainian Embassy "And that's when I saw the flag of Ukraine for the first time," Sarancha says I had not seen that flag since the first grade." At first officials at the embassy thought Sarancha was Russian and told him to go away showing them the only Ukrainian document he had: his birth certificate After a meeting with the ambassador himself the embassy issued Sarancha a temporary Ukrainian passport The last stop on his risky trip was the Belarusian border with Ukraine 'Unlock your phone and hand it over,' " Sarancha recalls But he was somehow able to remain calm and they finally opened the barrier and let him through He walked the few hundred feet to the Ukrainian border and freedom Sarancha says he likes everything about Ukraine "Everyone is united for the sake of one goal," he says He says at first his parents didn't believe he was in Ukraine He says he wants his parents to recognize the truth about the war and has threatened to block them on his phone until they do Sarancha wants to become a sculptor and hopes to enter the Kyiv Art Academy next fall But for now he admits he doesn't mind the media attention Ukrainian TV reporter Karina Kyrychenko who has come to interview him says Sarancha's bravery is an inspiration for the entire country "His story is necessary for all Ukrainians right now because everyone is tired and his story has a lot motivation," she says Kyrychenko says Sarancha is proof that Russia's indoctrination of a generation of youth in the occupied territories may not be working after all There are Ukrainians there waiting to be liberated NPR's Polina Lytvynova and Hanna Palamarenko contributed to this story Become an NPR sponsor either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Pro-Ukrainian partisans said on Sunday they had "destroyed" equipment along a railway running through the eastern Ukrainian Luhansk region in the latest of claimed attacks by Kyiv-aligned operatives against Russia along with the neighboring Donetsk region and southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts Luhansk and Donetsk collectively make up the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine the country's traditional industrial heartland from Kyiv in 2014 as it backed pro-Kremlin separatists in the Donbas Russia's grip on these five regions is not internationally recognized a pro-Ukrainian partisan group active in Crimea and other parts of Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory said on Sunday its members had "destroyed" transformer equipment along the railway used by Russian troops to transport troops and supplies close to the town of Stanytsia Luhanska The town sits northeast of the regional capital roughly 11 miles west of internationally recognized Russian territory Russia controls the vast majority of Luhansk The "successful sabotage" disrupted Russian logistics and caused delays in Moscow's deliveries of equipment and spare parts Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email The Atesh movement said it was "systematically" targeting transport infrastructure used by Moscow in Russian-held areas The group said earlier in April it destroyed another transformer unit along a railway close to the Russian city of Kemerovo The railway linked up Russian military production facilities "The number of disruptions on railways throughout the Russian Federation will only increase," the group said Kyiv said Russia had launched 149 strike drones at Ukraine overnight with its air defenses intercepting 57 of the uncrewed aerial vehicles as well as the central Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions and parts of northern Russia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday it had intercepted three Ukrainian drones over Crimea earlier in the day the Kremlin said air defenses had shot down eight drones over the border Bryansk region since 10:30 p.m The Atesh group said Russian forces used the railway "to transport resources for supplying troops there will be more and more such strikes," the Atesh group said Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsweek is committed to journalism that is factual and fair We value your input and encourage you to rate this article Newsletters in your inbox See all The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has collected evidence against four Russian accomplices who tortured Ukrainian POWs in the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk Oblast Source: SSU; Prosecutor General's Office; Ukrainska Pravda's sources in law enforcement  Details: The case file shows that the suspects are former employees of a penal colony in Sukhodilsk who collaborated with Russia after the seizure of the settlement They later became part of the "administration" of the Russian prison Head of the repressive institution's so-called operational department and his three subordinate "inspectors": Leonid Rudenko The investigation established that the Russian soldiers had set up a torture chamber in the seized facility where they took Ukrainian soldiers captured during the fighting in eastern Ukraine The suspects beat the prisoners with rubber truncheons and tortured them with electric shocks the leaders of the Russian prison hoped to persuade the prisoners of war to cooperate with the Russians Ukrainian law enforcement officers notified Ukrainian nationals Kyrylo Dolhopolov Mykola Tsvietkov and Roman Zankov in absentia of suspicion of war crimes based on the evidence collected The SSU adds that comprehensive measures are being taken to find and punish the war criminals as the criminals are located in the temporarily occupied part of Luhansk Oblast Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon Editor-in-chief: Sevğil Musayeva Founding Editor: Olena Prytula Contact us: upeng@pravda.ua Ukraine’s government on Tuesday announced that it dismissed the governors of its northeastern Sumy and easternmost Luhansk regions the Ukrainian government's permanent representative in parliament said on Telegram that Sumy Governor Volodymyr Artyukh and Luhansk Governor Artem Lysohor were dismissed from their post He further announced that Artyukh was replaced by Oleh Hryhorov Although Melnychuk did not provide further details as to why the governors were relieved from their duties Artyukh’s dismissal comes amid accusations from local authorities about him organizing a military award ceremony on the same day of a missile strike on the city of Sumy by Russia which resulted in the death of 35 people and injured over 110 others Artyukh denied being involved in the organization of the event in comments to public broadcaster Suspilne on Monday fake teams are being deployed as a tool to normalise a violent denial of the past On 12 April a new club played its first game in Russia’s football pyramid A healthy enough crowd gathered at Novokolor Arena in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky 20 miles from the border with Ukraine’s occupied territories encouraged by a slick buildup on social media They watched “Zarya Luhansk” begin their slog through the Third League the fifth tier of a complicated Russian system whose composition shifts annually with a 5-0 home win over Volgar Astrakhan’s second team Some had travelled by chartered bus from the city their club purports to represent Read moreBut “Zarya” – the only difference between the prefixes, which mean “dawn”, is that of preferred Russian and Ukrainian spelling – began their campaign to little pushback from football’s authorities. The imitation club was founded in December 2023 and has played 82 matches, many in a “Commonwealth League” set up for teams from the regions Russia has annexed They finished third in last year’s 10-team competition Among their rivals in that event is a sham “Shakhtar Donetsk” The appearance of a replica “Zarya” in Russia’s setup feels like a red line crossed nobody is suggesting football should not be played in any form by those in occupied regions they will stage their matches in Russia rather than in the country it has invaded There may technically be no breach here even if Zorya who prefer not to legitimise the new club’s activities with comment are not banking on a long spell in the nominally amateur Third League A glance at their operation suggests significant financial backing told local media this month they planned to “close the issue in this calendar year” when asked how quickly he would like “Zarya” to reach Russia’s two-tier Second League from where a clear path up the divisions is visible He made clear they must follow the “historical traditions” of the prewar Zorya Players of FC Zorya Luhansk stand with children who originate from Ukranian territory occupied by Russia in Kyiv this month Photograph: Yurii Yuriev/Global Images Ukraine/Getty ImagesThey have signed a number of players The door has also been left open to play home games in Luhansk although Asatryan said “curfew and a certain regime situation” preclude that Training sessions have been held in Avanhard Stadium Zorya’s home until the war in Donbas forced their relocation in 2014; this week they warmed up in Perevalsk It is not difficult to see this project for what it is “Zarya” were formed at the instruction of the illegitimate Luhansk People’s Republic which controls the city and its surrounding area Football is being deployed as a tool to normalise a violent denial of the past and the cold truth for anyone expecting a response from the authorities is that they are simply the latest example in a concerning but virtually ignored trend Should “Zarya” earn promotion to Football National League 2B they would probably meet the Crimean teams Rubin Yalta and Sevastopol They were incorporated into the Russian pyramid two years ago and began their third season in the competition last month the Ukrainian Football Association complained vociferously that the clubs had breached Uefa rules prohibiting sides from Crimea competing in tournaments organised by the Russian Football Union (RFU) It asked that governing bodies take action against the RFU suggesting it should be ejected by Uefa and Fifa The loophole apparently deployed by the RFU was that Football National League 2B does not operate under its auspices and the four who responded directly confirmed their players are employed on professional contracts added “professional club” to their official profile on the Russian social networking site VK Free weekly newsletterThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s action The Football National League’s statutes for this season say that it organises “all-Russian football competitions among professional football clubs of the second league” It describes itself as ultimately deferential to the RFU The RFU offered no answer when asked whether Rubin or Sevastopol neither of whom have yet been allowed into the Russian Cup would be granted promotion to the third tier if it were earned this season Nor did Uefa respond fully when asked, with reference to the Crimean pair and “Zarya”, about its stance in relation to clubs from the occupied territories. In July 2023 it told the Guardian it was “assessing the situation” regarding Crimea Uefa said it had consistently communicated its position on the matter There has been no public or private update on its assessment; maybe that process is about to enter its third year Fifa did not reply to questions on the situation Perhaps the issue appears trivial to those in football’s corridors of power Maybe three clubs from sovereign Ukrainian territory one a clear rip-off of an existing institution being blended into the aggressors’ football pyramid is deemed an irrelevant footnote when the headline is that Russia and its sides remain banned from international events There appears little appetite to stop others following suit and presumably plenty of interest from Russia’s football authorities in accepting them on a slow and bobbly artificial surface in the Crimean city Yevpatoria “Zarya” defeated “Shakhtar” 3-0 in this season’s third set of Commonwealth League match days brought roars from the crowd and wild jubilation on the touchline among players and staff “They’re celebrating as if they won the Champions League,” said the commentator on the freely available online feed but how far will the creep of clubs representing Ukraine’s occupied territories into Russia’s league system be allowed to continue This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations Addressing the Munich Security Conference on Saturday (15 February) Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy repeated his plea for Western support while indicated his openness to hold local elections in the separatist-held regions of Donetsk and Lugansk together with the rest of the country in October Townhall on Ukraine with Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference on 15 February 2020 Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy took part in nine hours of talks in Paris on Monday (9 November) brokered by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel New senior appointments in Moscow and Kyiv on Tuesday (11 February) pointed towards a tentative thaw in ties after the Ukrainian president's new chief of staff offered guarded praise for the man put in charge of the Ukraine file in the Kremlin citing a report by the Luhansk Regional Military Administration on Facebook Russians have appropriated properties owned by Ukrainian citizens and legal entities more than 17,000 properties were taken into regional ownership The seized properties include assets whose ownership was not confirmed by individuals who evacuated to safer regions of Ukraine or abroad within 30 days of their discovery by occupying forces it has been reported that the so-called "LPR" authorities will impose fines for the use of driver’s licenses that expired at the end of 2022 previously held no legal status beyond the occupied region but Russian authorities later extended their validity until 2025 driving documents issued by any country other than Russia will be invalid for individuals residing in occupied Luhansk for over a year This policy will result in fines of up to 15,000 rubles in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine Russian forces have initiated a new wave of mandatory replacement of all vehicle documents with Russian-issued ones This marks the next phase of forced passportization While citing and using any materials on the Internet links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421 by The Kyiv Independent news deskArmored vehicles in an open field near Nadiya (Third Assault Brigade/Telegram)Ukrainian forces liberated the village of Nadiya in Luhansk Oblast reclaiming three square kilometers from Russian occupation the Third Assault Brigade reported on March 23 The 30-hour operation was carried out by the Third Assault Brigade according to the Armed Forces General Staff Ukraine’s Air Force successfully struck Russian troops in a shelter in Torestsk killing a number of assault groups and drone operators We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent We are here to make sure our readers get quick essential updates about the events in Ukraine Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts Russia is close to seizing all of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region although it would likely be a victory more for Moscow's propaganda war than a game-changing win for Russia along the front lines in the embattled east of Ukraine As of October 3, Russian troops controlled 98.8 percent of Luhansk, said Angelica Evans, a Russia researcher with the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank that tracks daily changes to the front line Luhansk is one of four regions that Russia said it had annexed in September 2022 Moscow currently does not control all the territory falling under these regions although it has made gains—particularly in Donetsk—since early this year Kremlin-backed separatists in Ukraine's industrial heartland of Donetsk and Luhansk declared the regions as independent republics in 2014 and battled authorities in Kyiv before Moscow launched its full-scale invasion effort in February 2022 Russia said it had seized control of all of Luhansk in summer 2022 after the fall of the city of Lysychansk but a Ukrainian counteroffensive pushed Moscow's forces back Russian advances in Luhansk have been very slow recently with Moscow not prioritizing efforts along this part of the front line Just a sliver remains in Ukrainian control along Luhansk's borders with the neighboring Kharkiv and Donetsk regions Russian troops have advanced to the southwest of the Luhansk city of Svatove in recent weeks Russia's defense ministry said its troops had captured Makiivka a village southwest of Svatove sitting close to the Luhansk border with both Kharkiv and Donetsk published comments on Tuesday from Andrey Marochko described by Russian state media as a former or reserve commander in Luhansk which said Makiivka was the "last major settlement" held by Ukraine in the region Moscow seizing control of the entire oblast is "not too far away," the agency cited Marochko as saying Kyiv controls "less than one percent" of Luhansk Losing control of all of Luhansk would be a blow to Ukrainian morale at a tough moment in Kyiv's war effort captured key settlements in Donetsk like the former Ukrainian stronghold of Avdiivka in February and the embattled town of Vuhledar earlier this week Kyiv is fighting a battle of attrition with a determined Moscow exhausted despite the boon that its surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region offered in August Evans suggested that once Russia claims all of Luhansk—and it is not yet clear when that will be—the main advantage to Moscow will be the optics "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," Evans said "The Kremlin will likely oversell the seizure of Luhansk Oblast within the Russian and global information space as a major battlefield victory." The Ukrainian-held territory in Luhansk is largely made up of fields and small settlements meaning Russian advances in the region will not "significantly contribute [to] Russian operational objectives" for this chunk of the front line The capture of Luhansk will not be a "major inflection" in Russia's overall war effort throughout Ukraine Moscow's operations in Luhansk could have some "tactically significant advances," Evans added "but these advances will not significantly impact the battlefield geography of eastern Ukraine." As reported by Ukrinform, the Khortytsia Operational-Strategic Group of Troops announced this on Telegram strike drone operators successfully hit one tank and three enemy vehicles," the statement reads the total combat losses of the Russian forces in Ukraine since February 24 by Olena GoncharovaPhoto for illustrative purposes A destroyed Russian tank pictured in Luhansk Oblast on Feb (Anatolii Stepanov / AFP)Three employees from Russian state-affiliated media were killed in occupied Luhansk Oblast while on assignment The victims included Izvestia correspondent Alexander Fedorchak as well as Zvezda TV cameraman Andrei Panov and driver Alexander Sirkeli Izvestia announced that Fedorchak died while reporting from the front lines. The journalist often covered Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts as well as Russia's Kursk region "His last report was broadcast literally the day before," the newspaper said In January, Izvestia newspaper reported that a Ukrainian "kamikaze" drone attack killed one of its freelance reporters while he was traveling on a highway in occupied eastern Ukraine Izvestia is now owned by the National Media Group (NMG) a media conglomerate with significant state-controlled ownership and close ties to the Kremlin Meanwhile, Zvezda, a channel linked to Russia’s Defense Ministry said two of its crew members were killed when their vehicle was struck Russia’s Investigative Committee launched an investigation into the incident saying that the journalists were killed in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast claimed the attack occurred in the Kreminna district The incident occurred as Ukraine and Russia held talks with the United States regarding a possible partial ceasefire. Russia has intensified its assaults on Ukraine’s civilian areas over the past weeks Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018 Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia The brigade announced this on its Telegram channel The village of Nadiia in the Luhansk region has been liberated The 3rd Assault Brigade reports that its forces have restored control over Nadiia," the post said Russia spent two months trying to hold Nadiia losing two mechanized regiments -- the 752nd and 254th of the 20th Combined Arms Army The total area liberated from Russian occupation spans three square kilometers The brigade also released video footage capturing key moments of the 30-hour operation with more details expected soon on the unit's YouTube channel On Ukrainian Volunteer Fighter Day on March 14 the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was officially reorganized into the 3rd Army Corps by The Kyiv Independent news deskFootage that purports to show a smoke rising over Russian-occupied Luhansk (Governor Artem Lysohor/Telegram)Smoke and explosions were recorded in the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk on Oct 29 after what Governor Artem Lysohor called possible strikes on Russian ammunition depots "Since morning, locals have been sharing footage of detonating ammunition," Lysohor said publishing videos recorded by bystanders on his Telegram channel Russia has occupied the city of Luhansk, Ukraine's easternmost regional center The videos show thick smoke rising above Luhansk and an explosion. According to Lysohor, Russian authorities closed an area near a park which would mean that Russian forces hid materiel in public spaces frequented by civilians "Today's explosions will clearly be reflected in front-line combat operations: it will take a lot of time to replenish warehouses and build new logistics routes," Lysohor wrote 0:00/1×Footage that purports to show a smoke rising over Russian-occupied Luhansk (Governor Artem Lysohor/Telegram)Russian occupation authorities claimed that Ukraine carried out an "unsuccessful missile attack" on Luhansk with some of them exploding in the industrial part of the city The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims Ukrainian forces have been destroying ammunition behind the front lines to slow Russia’s advance along the front line as Moscow’s forces advance at a speed not seen since March 2022 with the latter’s explosion picked up on earthquake monitors According to Ukrinform, the Luhansk Regional State Administration posted this on Facebook the so-called “LPR” promises to launch the procedure for issuing a Russian passport,” the statement reads The regional administration noted that residents of the occupied Luhansk region are currently forced to travel to Russia to obtain this document “However, in order to obtain a biometric passport, which is valid for 10 years, you will have to use this route in the future. Because in the “LPR” they will only issue old-style passports that are valid for five years you can't travel anywhere with these documents They will not be accepted in many countries,” the RMA said As Ukrinform reported earlier, car owners in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine will be required to have a document on Russian civil liability insurance starting in the new year by Natalia YermakThe aftermath of the car bomb explosion in Russian-occupied Luhansk on Oct 18 that reportedly killed Russian Major Dmitriy Pervukha (Screenshot from the video by Russian Investigative Committee)Russian Major Dmitriy Pervukha was killed in the center of Russian-occupied Luhansk after his car exploded Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) said on Oct "On Oct. 18, 2024, at about 11:40 a.m., a UAZ Patriot car exploded" on one of the streets in Luhansk, HUR said on Telegram Pervukha was allegedly involved in war crimes against Ukraine He served in the 273rd Intelligence Center of the Russian Armed Forces Pervukha held the position of the so-called “chief of staff for military service and security of military service,” according to HUR Russian Investigative Committee announced that a criminal case was opened on Oct 18 to investigate the explosion that killed an unnamed man and wounded a woman in another car While HUR called Pervukha "a war criminal" and said that every crime against Ukraine would be "justly punished," it didn't claim responsibility for the attack Natalia Yermak is a staff writer for the Kyiv Independent She previously worked as a fixer-producer and contributing reporter for the New York Times since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion she worked in film production and documentary (Alice Martins / For The Washington Post via Getty Images)For some Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts evoke images of coal mines and Russian-speaking culture oriented toward Moscow Yet to accept this as the regions’ defining reality is to ignore a deeper truth: a Ukrainian heritage that Russia has spent centuries attempting to erase In the wake of independence, locals — navigating the complexities of a democratic transition after decades of authoritarian rule — sought to reclaim this identity, fostering a cultural revival that would gradually weave these regions more firmly into the national fabric. But in 2014, war brought that resurgence to a brutal halt Kateryna Zarembo’s “Ukrainian Sunrise: Stories of the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions from the Early 2000s,” now available in English translation, challenges the long-standing Soviet-era myths about Ukraine’s east. Drawing from field research conducted leading up to the full-scale invasion Zarembo illuminates how locals were in the process of reclaiming their regions’ Ukrainian identity While Zarembo currently dedicates part of her time to volunteering as a combat medic with the Hospitallers battalion “Ukrainian Sunrise” reads like a scholarly work yet the way it is written remains accessible to a broad audience Her commitment to fieldwork and firsthand interviews makes the book a far more reliable resource on the people of the region than the perspectives of think tanks with opaque funding sources or journalists who parrot Russian talking points Zarembo’s approach ensures that the voices of those in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts are heard directly — she serves not as an interpreter She opens “Ukrainian Sunrise” with a compelling takedown of the term "Donbas," a label frequently applied to both regions as part of a larger whole She contends that this historical term not only oversimplifies but also misrepresents the distinct identities of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts obscuring the diverse experiences of the people who called them home A portmanteau of “Donets Basin,” the term “Donbas” has been in use since the 19th century and has referred not only to Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts but also parts of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and even regions of southern Russia While the term conjures images of sprawling industrial cities for most people Zarembo references the words of a Luhansk scholar who noted that several districts in his region north of the Siverskyi Donets River were known not for mining (HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Men in a factory in Yuzovka (Donetsk (HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)“The myth of Donbas deliberately erases the peculiarities of the region at the micro level and portrays it as a homogenous whole,” Zarembo writes residents of the region would be the first to say that ‘Donbas’ and ‘the Donetsk and Luhansk regions’ are not synonymous.” Ukrainian teachers were branded as "class traitors," and miners faced arrest for reading so-called "nationalist literature." “The region was too important for the Soviet Union to tolerate its Ukrainian identity. And not only Ukrainian identity: the Soviet myth of Donbas as an ‘All-Union furnace’ not only rejected other identities except for heavy industry workers,” according to Zarembo pursued only when other opportunities failed to materialize Politicians attempted to perpetuate the “miner’s myth,” into the years of Ukraine’s independence, but as Zarembo writes, “the coal mined in Donbas was so much higher than the price at which it was sold that the region received regular subsidies from the state budget, which peaked during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych.” Coal miners in Ukraine Soviet Republic, 1940s. (Mark Redkin/FotoSoyuz/Getty Images)Under Soviet rule, the pervasiveness of the Russian language in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts was meticulously cultivated through policies that marginalized and stigmatized the Ukrainian language linguistic preference in the early 2000s did not serve as a definitive marker of political allegiance Russian speakers could be patriotic Ukrainians who feel no deep affinity toward Russia while Ukrainian speakers could be Euro skeptics were not unique to Donetsk and Luhansk — they were emblematic of broader dynamics throughout Ukraine at that time The politics of historical memory was a mechanism through which these complexities often had to be navigated a proposal emerged to rename Donetsk National University in honor of Vasyl Stus the 20th-century poet who grew up in Donetsk and died in a Russian penal colony in 1985 This initiative was championed by the student organization Poshtovkh (“Impetus” in Ukrainian) which had been founded just two years earlier in 2006 amid a national movement to reembrace Ukraine’s historical memory fostered by then-President Viktor Yushchenko As one of its members reflects in the book, the group's mission was clear: “We thought if we educated people about the history of the region and explained that Ukrainian culture was not inferior to Russian culture then we would be contributing to the integration of this region into the general cultural landscape of Ukraine.” Stus’ legacy in Donetsk was one of competing narratives shaped by whether one’s view was oriented toward the past or present To those still tethered to the Soviet mindset But for those who envisioned a free and independent Ukraine he stood not only as a talented poet but as a hero and martyr for Ukraine’s struggle collected nearly 1,500 signatures from students and faculty at Donetsk National University and also earned support at the national level from key figures like Yushchenko their campaign quickly became a flashpoint for regional political tensions A communal worker replaces a Viktor Yanukovych pre-election placard in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Nov. 25, 2004. (Viktoria Synistra/AFP via Getty Images)The university administration, convinced that the students were "agents" of the Orange Revolution which had bolstered Yushchenko’s political rise turned the campaign into an ideological battleground the administration voted against the renaming and efforts were made to discredit Poshtovkh in the eyes of the public The resistance to cultural initiatives in Donetsk might seem baffling at first glance. Poshtovkh, for instance, faced staunch opposition not only when advocating for the renaming of the university but also when attempting to organize a Vertep festival — a centuries-old Ukrainian Christmas tradition — in the city’s central square this hostility is rooted in the enduring legacy of Soviet myths about Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts myths that relegated culture to an "unnecessary" status for its vision of the industrial Donbas left little room for expressions of Ukrainian heritage reinforcing a landscape where cultural initiatives were viewed with suspicion and theater that emerged in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts can only be described as being part of what Zarembo calls an “artistic underground” or a “cultural insurgency.” These movements defied entrenched ideologies striving to rejuvenate their cities and challenge the inertia of post-Soviet stagnation One of the most prominent examples of cultural reinvention in Donetsk is the Izolyatsia cultural center founded in 2010 on the site of a former mineral wool factory The center’s creation aimed to transform the factory from an industrial relic into a vibrant hub of social and cultural life Izolyatsia sought to shift the narrative of the region using art as a lens for reimagining its identity Opening of the Meeting Place exhibition in Donetsk (Dima Sergeev/Izolyatsia Must Speak)Gender in IZOLYATSIA exhibition in Donetsk (Dima Sergeev/Izolyatsia Must Speak)Cai Guo-Qiang's performance at the Prima building in Donetsk (Dima Sergeev/Izolyatsia Must Speak)IZOLAB (Dima Sergeev/Izolyatsia Must Speak)Some of Izolyatsia’s artistic initiatives included inviting Chinese American artist Cai Guo-Qiang to create portraits of miners using gunpowder or the art installation “Lipstick” by Cameroonian-Belgian artist Pascale Marthine Tayou who dedicated it to the women of the region A giant metallic red lipstick was installed on the top of the factory chimney which Russian occupying forces would later blow up when they seized the premises defining event was a Ukrainian literature festival held in late April 2014 despite the outbreak of the Russian invasion earlier that month In a powerful act of cultural defiance against Russian aggression some of Ukraine's most prominent literary figures and Kateryna Babkina committed to participating embodying the resilience of Ukraine's intellectual and artistic spirit in the face of war “The Torture Camp on Paradise Street,” offers a chilling first-hand account of the brutality he endured during his own imprisonment at Izolyatsia Much of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts has fallen under Russian occupation or been completely ravaged by over a decade of war It remains unclear when peace will return to both regions as Russia advances along the front line and continues its assault these landscapes continue to find ways to evolve in the collective consciousness of Ukrainians acquiring new meanings even amid all the destruction A notable example is the Azovstal steel plant in Russian-occupied Mariupol a site once criticized for its environmental impact With the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion it was transformed into a powerful symbol of Ukrainian resilience as outnumbered and outgunned soldiers entrenched themselves there during the Siege of Mariupol Mariupol locals sing the national anthem during a rally in Mariupol (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)A slag heap at the Azovstal Steel and Iron Works facility in Mariupol (Christopher Occhicone/Bloomberg via Getty Images)While many of those who sought to innovate Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts have been driven into exile due to Russia’s occupation they continue to serve their country — either by contributing to cultural initiatives from elsewhere in Ukraine or by fighting for the country’s future on the front lines marked by the targeted devastation of Ukraine's east represents yet another chapter in a long history of hardship for Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts “The history of the Ukrainian east demonstrates what this region has suffered from Russia every time it has tried to forge an alternative trajectory of development,” Zarembo writes “And the stories in this book confirm what it could have been if not for Russian interference; it had had the ten years the people featured in this book talk about These stories illustrate what the Ukrainian east can still become.” Kateryna Zarembo’s “Ukrainian Sunrise Stories of the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions from the Early 2000s is now available in Tetiana Savchynska’s English translation from Academic Studies Press Kate Tsurkan is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent who writes mostly about culture-related topics in Ukraine Her newsletter Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan which focuses specifically on Ukrainian culture is published weekly by the Kyiv Independent publisher Deep Vellum published her co-translation of Ukrainian author Oleh Sentsov’s Diary of a Hunger Striker in 2024 Some of her other writing and translations have appeared in The New Yorker She is the co-founder of Apofenie Magazine Illegitimate referendums on the accession of the temporarily occupied regions to Russia were held in both regions Pasichnyk was responsible for organizing the ‘sham’ referendum in the occupied territory of Luhansk and for the subsequent self-proclaimed accession to Russia the trial was conducted in a special court proceeding He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and deprived of the right to hold positions related to organizational and economic functions in governmental undertakings and entities for 13 years Pasichnyk’s sentence will commence once he is detained Bank of England granted political independence Chinese Exclusion Act barred Chinese laborers from US The Center of National Resistance reported this on Facebook "The invaders continue to plunder Ukrainian land - in the temporarily occupied part of Luhansk region a new wave of ‘distribution’ of seized plots to ‘special military operation’ terrorists and families of those killed in action," the report says the so-called "LPR" adopted another "law" on land appropriation "They seize land plots under any pretext: ‘incorrect paperwork’ or simply if the land is ‘uncultivated’ Even these formal reasons are sometimes unnecessary – it is enough for some collaborators to seek it," the watchdog added the invaders confiscated 18,000 hectares of land from residents in the occupied part of Luhansk region who had not obtained Russian passports The warriors of the Phoenix unit successfully repelled russian assault saw the defenders intercept russian forces attempting to stage an attack from within the cover of the Serebrіanskyі forest the Phoenix pilots foiled the adversaries’ plans eliminating russian MT-LB and four additional armored vehicles This decisive action not only disrupted the enemy’s offensive strategy but also significantly degraded their operational capabilities in the region A video of the combat operation was published on their official channel offering a vivid glimpse into the intense battle and showcasing the effectiveness of modern UAV systems in contemporary warfare Among the confirmed targets are five tanks the BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system Russia on Saturday claimed that its forces have taken control of another settlement in Ukraine’s Luhansk region the Russian Defense Ministry said that the forces carried out attacks on 132 targets including Ukrainian military airfield infrastructure and locations where Ukrainian troops and military equipment were stationed "Units of the Western Military Group have liberated the Nadiya settlement in the Luhansk People's Republic," it added the statement said that Russian air defense systems also shot down 72 Ukrainian drones and intercepted eight US-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) Platonovs was fighting in the areas near the village of Novoiehorivka in the largely Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast as part of the Ukrainian military's International Legion The military said that the volunteer was killed on Dec Platonovs' death is among the huge costs that Ukraine and those helping the country have had to pay to fend off the relentless Russian offensives since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 Many foreign fighters – like Platonovs – were killed and wounded in Ukraine but Kyiv has not disclosed the casualty figures "Another of our volunteer soldiers has died defending the freedom and independence of Ukraine. Our deepest condolences to the relatives and comrades of Edgars Platonovs," Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said on social media platform X adding: "Eternal memory to the hero!" Unlike many other foreign volunteers, Platonovs had not served in the Latvian Armed Forces before arriving in Ukraine. His family praised him as a "loving son, our older, strong and caring brother, who always did everything with all his heart and conviction," as cited by Delfi news website sincere and always positive person who never lost faith in himself and his principles," his family said a Russian drone attack had killed another Lithuanian – 28-year-old Vitalijs Smirnovs – in the Lyman area of Donetsk Oblast Agents of the Atesh partisan movement conduct reconnaissance and collect information about the occupiers' police stations in temporarily occupied Luhansk. This was reported by Atesh on Telegram These police stations are known to have become centers of repression by russians against pro-Ukrainian citizens russians conduct interrogations and exert pressure on innocent people after which some of them are selectively imprisoned in the basement "We capture all information about stations' operations the collaborators are expected to face actions of justice," the statement reads The Atesh movement calls on residents of temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to join stating that any information can aid in the struggle for the liberation of their homeland Earlier Defense Express reported that Ukrainian partisans in Crimea had tracked russian army's fuel supply routes Russia on Sunday said that it took control of two settlements in Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Luhansk regions A statement from the Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces captured the village of Rozivka located about 61 kilometers (37.9 miles) southeast of the city of Kupiansk a point of major clashes between Russian and Ukrainian troops since the start of the war The statement further said that its forces also captured the village of Pishchane located about 35 kilometers (21.7 miles) southeast of Kupiansk It went on to say that Russian forces also took control of “more advantageous lines and positions” as a result of their actions Ukraine has not yet commented on Russia’s claims and independent verification of Russia’s claims is difficult due to the ongoing war Russian forces have been attempting to breach Ukraine's defenses in the Kharkiv region opening a new front in the conflict that had hitherto been concentrated in the country's east and south Clashes in the region have intensified since then located about 74 kilometers (45 miles) from Kharkiv which has also been targeted by Russian airstrikes Russia claims to have seized control of multiple border settlements since the start of its offensive on the Kharkiv front were killed in a Ukrainian artillery strike on its eastern Luhansk region A correspondent for the daily newspaper Izvestia and two employees of the Zvezda TV channel -- cameraman Andrey Panov and driver Alexander Sirkeli -- were killed in the strike the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement The committee added that it opened a criminal case following the incident A 14-year-old teenager and a correspondent for the Russian state news agency TASS Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova strongly condemned Ukraine's actions pledging to seek a reaction from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) a specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes international collaboration through education aiming to build peace and sustainable development Commenting on the incident in a separate statement the UN Secretary-General's office said the UN opposes the killing of journalists and wants such incidents to be thoroughly investigated An agent of the Atesh partisan movement, a mobilized Ukrainian in the temporarily occupied Luhansk region, has gathered a large amount of critical information about russian occupiers' ammunition depots, according to the movement's Telegram channel Not only do we know the current storage locations but we also track the further movement of ammunition to field depots," the statement reads Atesh promptly transmits all this data to the Defense Forces of Ukraine which will ensure that the enemy is deprived of the opportunity to use this arsenal Destroying ammunition field depots hinders the russian offensive and saves the lives of the Defenders of Ukraine Each such strike makes the occupiers weaker and saves Ukrainian troops from enemy fire Atesh is also calling on russian soldiers to join the movement see how many of your comrades are already working with us They realized that the ongoing violence was pointless and found a way not only to help stop it Follow their example - join Atesh and start taking action," Atesh claimed Earlier Defense Express reported that the Atesh partisans had revealed russian occupiers' boom barriers in Balaklava Bay.