In August 2014, Ukrainian government forces completely surrounded rebel-held Luhansk. Heavy shelling caused civilian casualties in the city. On 17 August, Ukrainian soldiers entered the rebel-controlled Luhansk and for a time had control over a police station. After the Ilovaisk counteroffensive, LPR forces regained Lutuhyne and other Luhansk suburbs. Ukrainian forces withdrew from the Luhansk International Airport on 1 September 2014, after heavy fighting. Luhansk became the capital and the administrative center of the rebel state of the Luhansk People's Republic. The administration of the Luhansk Oblast was moved to Sievierodonetsk by the government of Ukraine. On September 30, 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree declaring the annexation of four regions of Ukraine (Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhiya Oblasts) to Russia. The annexation was illegal under international law and was condemned by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Raions in the city (City districts) Artemivskyi Raion city of Oleksandrivsk urban-type settlement Yuvileine Kamiano-Bridskyi Raion Zhovtnevyi Raion Leninskyi Raion Higher education Some of the more prestigious universities in Ukraine have their home in Luhansk. Luhansk is the location of the main campus of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Luhansk, East Ukrainian Volodymyr Dahl National University and of Luhansk State Medical University. Demographics In the Ukrainian Census of 2001, 49.6% of the inhabitants declared themselves as ethnically Ukrainians and 47% as Russians. 85.3% of the population spoke Russian as their native language, while 13.7% spoke Ukrainian, 0.2% Armenian and 0.1% Belarusian. Sport Luhansk is home to Zorya Luhansk which now plays in the Ukrainian Premier League annual football championship and plays at the Avanhard Stadium. The club won the 1972 Soviet Top League. The other football team was Dynamo Luhansk. Merheleva Ridge On 7 September 2006, archaeologists in Ukraine announced that an ancient structure had been discovered near Luhansk, which the press reported as a pyramid antedating those in Egypt by at least 300 years. The stone foundations of the structure were said to resemble Aztec and Mayan pyramids in Mesoamerica. It was later concluded that the site in question was not a pyramid but was still of great interest. Gallery During 2014 and 2015, Luhansk has been the scene of intense fighting and most of these buildings are damaged to some extent. Some may be destroyed. Climate Luhansk has a hot summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). Luhansk has both the