Putin announces operational pause after capturing towns in the east Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated the Russian seizure of Lysychansk and the majority of the Luhansk regional border in eastern Ukraine by appearing to direct his military to conduct an “operational pause”, the Institute for the Study of War reported on Monday. Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu called the recent Russian gains in the Luhansk region as a major victory for Russian forces in Ukraine. The Russian president also stated that the Russian units that participated in the battle for Lysychansk should rest to increase their combat capabilities,...