Russia reports progress in Ukraine while US shifts focus to potential conflict with Iran

Russia stated on Monday evening that it has taken control of the entire Luhansk region in Ukraine. This marks the first instance since its unauthorized invasion began three years ago that it may have complete control over a whole region.

It cannot be confirmed independently by Fox News Digital whether Leonid Pasechnik’s claim is accurate. Pasechnik, the leader of Luhansk appointed by Moscow, stated this. Vladimir Putin illegally annexed Luhansk in 2022, along with Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.

Kyiv has not responded yet to Pasechnik’s statements made on Monday evening to Russian state TV channel Channel One. Pasechnik mentioned in the interview that he was informed “literally two days ago” that 100% of the region had been captured, as first reported by the Associated Press.

Ukrainian infantry man forward positions in the forest on Nov. 10, 2024, in Serebryansky Reserve, located about 8 kilometers southwest of Kreminna in the Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. (Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)

U.S.-led attempts to broker a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire appear to have stalled, and little communication has been reported between Washington and Moscow following Trump’s previous call with Putin in mid-June. 

Trump maintains that Putin is looking for a way to end the war, and told reporters during a NATO news conference last week, “I know one thing – he’d like to settle.”

“He’d like to get out of this thing. It’s a mess for him,” he added. 

But NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who has managed to establish a positive relationship with the U.S. president despite Trump’s previous criticism of the alliance, has warned that he estimates Putin has ambitions beyond Ukraine and could attack other parts of Europe within three to five years. 

President Donald Trump speaks with Secretary-General Mark Rutte as he arrives for a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025. (Piroschka Van De Wouw, Pool Photo via AP)

Trump gave Putin a two-week deadline in May to show he was serious about ending the war, or whether he is “tapping [the U.S.] along.”

But the deadline has long passed, and the president has not made clear what his next steps will be. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions on what the president plans to do next when it comes to U.S. attempts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, or when Trump plans to next speak with Putin.