Pharmacare bill passes in the House of Commons, heads to the Senate
The Liberals' pharmacare bill is headed to the Senate after passing third reading in the House of Commons.
Russia claimed control Sunday over the last Ukrainian stronghold in an eastern province that is key to achieving a major goal of its grinding war.
Ukraine's General Staff of the military reported that its forces had withdrawn from Lysychansk in Luhansk province, but the president said the fight for the city was ongoing.
If confirmed, Russia's complete seizure of Luhansk would provide its forces a stronger base from which to press their advance in neighbouring Donetsk province and bring them one step closer to achieving one of President Vladimir Putin's major goals: capturing the entire Donbas.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that Russia's troops, with members of a local separatist militia, "have established full control over the city of Lysychansk" and now hold all of Luhansk, according to a ministry statement published Sunday.
As is typical with such descriptions, the Russian statement characterized the victories as "the liberation of the Luhansk People's Republic." Separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk, which make up the Donbas and have significant Russian-speaking populations, declared independence from Kyiv in 2014, and Russia formally recognized their self-proclaimed republics days before its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian and Russian forces have fought fiercely for Lysychansk in recent days after neighboring Sievierodoentsk fell last week. On Sunday evening, the General Staff of Ukraine's military confirmed on social media that its forces had withdrawn from Lysychansk "to preserve the lives of Ukrainian defenders."
Earlier, however, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said Kyiv's forces were still battling Russian soldiers on the city's outskirts "in a very difficult and dangerous situation."
"We cannot give you the final judgment. Lysychansk is still being fought for," Zelenskyy told a news conference in Kyiv, while noting that territory can move quickly from one side to the other.
Russian forces maintain an advantage in the area, he acknowledged, calling it a Ukrainian military "weak spot."
The capture of Lysychansk would give the Russians more territory from which to intensify attacks on Donetsk as they drive their campaign in the Donbas, a region of mines and factories where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.
If Russia prevails in the Donbas, Ukraine would lose not only land but perhaps the bulk of its most capable military forces, opening the way for Moscow to grab more territory and strengthen its ability to dictate terms to Kyiv.
Already, Russian forces have concentrated rocket attacks on the sizable Ukrainian-held city of Slovyansk in Donetsk. New attacks were reported in the city Sunday. At least six people were killed, regional government spokeswoman Tatyana Ignatchenko told Ukrainian TV.
Kramatorsk, another major city in the Donetsk region, also came under fire, the regional administration said.
Far from the fighting in the east, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday visited a town near the capital that was severely damaged early in the war. Albanese called the destruction in Irpin "devastating."
"These are homes and these are livelihoods and indeed lives that have been lost here in this town," he said.
Elsewhere, the exiled mayor of the Russia-occupied city of Melitopol said Sunday that Ukrainian rockets destroyed one of four Russian military bases in the city.
Attacks were also reported inside Russia, in a revival of sporadic apparent Ukrainian strikes across the border. The governor of the Belgorod region in Western Russia said fragments of an intercepted Ukrainian missile killed four people Sunday. In the Russian city of Kursk, two Ukrainian drones were shot down, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.
Kursk regional governor Roman Starovoit said the town of Tetkino, on the Ukraine border, came under mortar fire.
------
Ebel reported from Prokovsk, Ukraine. Associated Press journalist Maria Grazia Murru contributed from Kyiv.
----
Do you have any questions about the attack on Ukraine? Email dotcom@bellmedia.ca.
The Liberals' pharmacare bill is headed to the Senate after passing third reading in the House of Commons.
A university student woke up one morning to find her car had been towed away without warning. She finally got answers - just not the ones she expected.
Recent data from the U.S. census revealed that more than 126,000 people moved from Canada to the U.S. in 2022. An expert said that one of the main reasons for this move is the cost of living.
Some MPs began 'wittingly assisting' foreign state actors soon after their election, says a report released Monday, including sending confidential information to Indian officials.
For two years doctors told her she was an alcoholic. Then they realized her gut was making alcohol from carbohydrates, a rare condition called auto-brewery syndrome.
One person is dead and 26 were injured after a bus carrying Quebec tourists was involved in a collision in Cuba on Sunday.
A new law protecting cyclists and pedestrians in British Columbia takes effect Monday, establishing minimum distances that drivers must keep from so-called vulnerable road users.
Newfoundland and Labrador has floated an eyebrow-raising trial balloon in a bid to further the public health fight against tobacco and nicotine.
Many people are familiar with the benefits of being in nature, but forest therapy goes a step further than a simple walk in the woods.
Many people are familiar with the benefits of being in nature, but forest therapy goes a step further than a simple walk in the woods.
The Stanley Cup was passing through town Friday, and Lanny Legend took it upon himself to take it for a surprise visit.
Car 14 is a luxury passenger car that once made regular runs from London to Port Stanley starting in 1917.
A hefty donation by a renowned local activist to the University of Winnipeg has created what is believed to be the most comprehensive two-spirit archives in all of Canada.
Leanne Van Bergen discovered a skulk of 10 baby foxes, and two mothers, had made themselves at home on her property in Beausejour.
An 81-year-old Waterloo, Ont. woman thought she’d never ride a horse again after a brain bleed led to severe physical complications.
A CP24 camera caught the moment a driver frantically got out of her car as it was being dragged by a truck on Avenue Road Wednesday afternoon.
Prince Edward Island is celebrating its first-ever International Day of Potato on Thursday.
The president of Covered Bridge Chips in New Brunswick is hoping to have his factory rebuilt for late 2025 following a devastating fire last year.