Kyiv (dpa-AFX) – According to Ukrainian information, 70 percent of the Luhansk region in the east of the country is now occupied by Russian troops. This was announced by the head of the regional administration of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajdaj, on Saturday night on Facebook. Those places that are still under Kiev’s control are exposed to constant shelling. There are dozens of civilians injured and killed. At the same time, there are no escape corridors for people from the region. This information could not initially be independently verified.
Luhansk is one of two areas claimed by pro-Russian separatists for their self-proclaimed People’s Republics. The separatists lay claim to the entire territory of the administrative regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which they controlled only about a third before the Russian invasion at the end of February./vee/DP/zb