Ukrainian forces advance into Luhansk after Putin announced region's annexation

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Ukrainian armed forces advanced into the Luhansk region. It is reportedly the first time that Ukrainian forces have advanced into the Luhansk region since the beginning of the conflict between troops of Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian troops' advances in the northeast region of the country come after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of four Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine - Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk. 

As per a CNN report, pictures have emerged on social media which show Ukrainian troops in a village in the eastern Luhansk region. Another image shows Ukrainian troops standing around a road sign in the Hrekivka region of Luhansk. Notably, Ukrainian forces have been approaching Luhansk from various directions. Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk region's Ukrainian military administration, has claimed that "several settlements have been liberated from the Russian army." 

'De-occupation' of eastern Luhansk has started: Hayday

Hayday said that the "de-occupation" of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region has started. He called on residents who fled their homes in Luhansk to not travel back to the region, CNN reported. He stressed that authorities will inform the people when they can return to Luhansk and called it "necessary" that Ukrainian troops further move towards the front line.

Furthermore, he called on residents in Russian-occupied areas of Luhansk to flee from the frontline or stay in shelters. Earlier in September, Ukrainian troops liberated Bilohorivka village of Luhansk from Russian forces. Meanwhile, the UK Defence Ministry in its intelligence update about the war said that Russian leaders will "highly likely" be concerned that leading Ukrainian units are approaching the borders of Luhansk. 

Ukrainian forces making 'powerful advances' in southern Ukraine: Zelenskyy

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that dozens of settlements have been liberated by Ukraine's troops from Russian forces this week. In his nightly video address on October 4, the leader stressed that Ukrainian forces were making a "pretty fast and powerful advance" in the southern part of Ukraine. He announced that the settlements of Lyubymivka, Khreshchenivka, Zolota Balka, Bilyaivka, Ukrainka, Velyka, Mala Oleksandrivka and Davydov Brid in the Kherson region have been liberated from Russian forces and "stabilized," according to the statement released by Ukraine President's office. He noted that the list of regions is far from complete and pledged to continue the fight against Russian forces "to oust the occupier from all our land." 

"Today we’ve got some good news both from the frontline and from the diplomatic front. First: the Ukrainian army is carrying out a pretty fast and powerful advance in the south of our country as part of the current defense operation. Dozens of settlements have already been liberated from the Russian sham referendum this week alone," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.