The official said Ukraine lost a key area south of Lysychansk to Russian forces

A local Ukrainian official said on television that an area south of Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region was “fully occupied” by Russian forces as of Friday morning.

“Unfortunately, as of today… the entire Hirske district has been occupied,” Hirske mayor Oleksiy Babchenko said in a television broadcast. Said. “There are some minor local wars going on in the environment, but the enemy has entered,” he said.