It is reported that Ukrainian forces continue to speed up the retake of Russian-occupied territories.
CNN reported on the 5th (local time), citing social media circumstances, that Ukrainian ground forces re-entered Luhansk province in eastern Ukraine for the first time since the war.
Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine on February 24 this year to liberate pro-Russian residents of the Donbas region, including Luhansk and Donetsk.
Luhansk Province, which was partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists even before the war, was completely occupied by Russia in early July of this year.
CNN reported that multiple photos posted on social media showed that Ukrainian troops had crossed over from the nearby Donetsk Oblast and entered at least one village in the Luhansk region.
Luhansk Governor Serhi Haidai also declared in a telegram that "the recapture of the occupied Luhansk Oblast has begun".
"Several settlements in the occupied territories have already been liberated and Ukrainian troops are already raising the Ukrainian flag," Haidai said.
Russia concluded the annexation of the four states - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporiza and Kherson - with the signing of a law by President Vladimir Putin on the same day.
(Photo=AFP, Yonhap News)