Description: The Russian ministry of defense has stated that Russian troops now exercise complete control of the Luhansk region, with recent advancements capturing the last territorial parts in the region. Other advances were also announced in the Kharkiv region, where Russian forces allegedly captured the village of Verkhnya Pysarivka and in the Zaporizhzhia region, where the Boikove village was also captured. There was no response from the Ukrainian side, which recently proposed an easter ceasefire on energy facilities. Ukraine recently intensively targeted the Ust – Luga port in the Baltic Sea, aiming to cripple Russia’s oil exports in times of global energy crisis. Russia responded by launching immense aerial attacks with drones and ballistic missiles which targeted the western city of Lutsk.
Impact: The Luhansk region has been under majority Russian control for several years which translates the claim of total control as diplomatic and political posturing, exploiting the negotiating vacuum created by the war in Iran. The war continues to focus on aerial campaigns and localized ground incursions where the power dynamics is constantly shifting. No traction is expected on the diplomatic front especially after the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, which downsizes any potential for a ceasefire or peace agreement in the near – term.