MOSCOW - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should withdraw his forces from the Donbas region, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

"As we have stated, he must take responsibility and make this difficult decision. Doing so could save a great many lives," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, adding: "Most importantly, it would bring an end to the active phase of this conflict."

However, the pause in the trilateral talks between Russia, the United States and Ukraine is unrelated to the issue of Ukrainian armed forces in Donbas, he added.

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Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian forces have taken full control of the Luhansk region, adding that settlements including Verkhnyaya Pisarevka in the Kharkiv region and Boykovo in the Zaporizhzhia region have also been brought under full control.