KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia claims to have taken control of 97% of one of the two provinces that make up Ukraine’s Donbas, bringing the Kremlin closer to its goal of fully capturing the eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu says Moscow’s forces hold nearly all of Luhansk province. And it appears that Russia now occupies roughly half of Donetsk province, according to Ukrainian officials and military analysts.
Russia claims advances in Ukraine amid fierce fighting
