Civilian militia men hold shotguns during training at a shooting range in outskirts Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
APTOPIX Russia Ukraine War
After more than four months of ferocious fighting, Russia claimed full control over one of the two provinces in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland. But Moscow’s seizure of the last major stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in Luhansk province came at a steep price.
The critical question now is whether Russia can muster enough strength for a new offensive to complete its capture of the Donbas and make gains elsewhere in Ukraine. There are signs Russia is sustaining heavy losses.
That raises doubts about whether Moscow’s forces and their separatist allies are ready to quickly thrust deeper into Donetsk, the other province that makes up the Donbas.
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