Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday cast doubt on Moscow's claim that Russian troops had captured Ukraine's strategic eastern city of Lysychansk.
"We cannot say today that Lysychansk is under (Russian) control. There is fighting on the outskirts," Zelenskyy told a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Zelenskyy warned, however, of "risks" that the Lugansk region, where Lysychansk was the last major city in Ukrainian hands, "will be completely occupied" by Moscow.
Capturing Lysychansk would allow Russia to control all of Lugansk, and advance on Sloviansk and Kramatorsk further west as part of their campaign in the eastern Donbas region.
Zelenskyy conceded that Lysychansk represented "the most difficult and most dangerous situation" for Ukraine.
"We do not have the advantage there, it's true. It's our weak spot but in other areas, we're advancing," he added.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier on Sunday said Moscow's forces had taken full control of Lugansk after conquering Lysychansk, which has been at the centre of fierce fighting for weeks.
(Published 03 July 2022, 17:15 IST)
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