Luhansk Oblast governor Serhiy Haidai said the city was attacked "with inexplicably brutal tactics" and the Russians were "stubbornly advancing" amid losses. Outside observers noted that the fall of Lysychansk meant that Russia had achieved its strategic objective of capturing all of Luhansk Oblast, as part of its larger goal of seizing the entirety of the Donbas.[9][10][11] Later that day, the Ukrainian General Staff confirmed that their forces had withdrawn from Lysychansk,[12] however President Zelenskyy denied that the city was fully captured, saying "...we cannot definitely say that Lysychansk is under [Russian] control.