Seriy Hayday, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, claimed that Russian forces were "removing [Popasna] from the map of Luhansk region".[43] It was reported that Russian forces seized Rubizhne and the nearby town of Voevodivka on 12 May 2022.[1] The BBC claims that during the fighting for Rubizhne up to 1500 shells per day were fired before Russian forces advanced.