The Latest Breaking News from Luhansk

There is no shortage of speculation about what Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to do with the vast Russian military force now virtually encircling Ukraine, and why he has amassed it.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised the non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as independent entities. This is a severe breach of international law. It is also a heavy blow for our diplomatic efforts to settle the conflict. For many years, France and Germany have tried to…

Russia’s recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, and fears of a military attack on Ukraine, have once again drawn the world’s attention to these two rebel-held separatist regions. They have been outside Ukrainian government control since Russian-backed separatists fought Ukrainian forces to a standstill in 2014, a conflict…

Vladimir Putin’s recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent has escalated Russia’s slow annexation of Ukrainian territories. This is a violation of international law, according to Marija Pejčinović Burić, secretary general of the Council of Europe, the continent’s top organisation to promote human rights and democracy. Since Russia is a…

As some Western observers have feared, Russian President Vladimir Putin has just proved that his aggression toward Ukraine was never really about NATO.

Ukraine's top security official Oleksiy Danilov said on Wednesday that Ukraine would impose a state of emergency on all of its territory, apart from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions where it has been in place since 2014.

Emmanuel Macron insisted revival of accords from 2014 and 2015 ‘only path on which peace can be built’

Pro-Russian separatist regions declared independence from Kiev in 2014

Vladimir Putin is wily, they say; he’s steps ahead of naive Western counterparts, ruthless at wielding his power for maximum advantage. And sure enough, there was the former KGB colonel Monday signing a piece of paper that Russia has recognized two breakaway Ukrainian regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent —…

The crisis escalated on Monday when Mr Putin announced he would recognise the two breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk

The Ukrainian military announced a soldier had died and six others were injured in a heavy shelling attack by pro-Russian separatists as Vladimir Putin called for the world to recognise Donetsk and Luhansk as independent