Russia’s Defense Ministry says it has completed capture of Luhansk region, but Ukrainian forces hold a small stretch of territory
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces have taken full control of the territory claimed by the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.
“Units of the ‘West’ forces group have completed the liberation of the Luhansk People’s Republic,” the ministry said.
In October 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian forces had 0.13 percent of the “LNR’s” territory left to capture.
Commentary from Meduza’s “Explainers” desk:
According to publicly available data, the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 3rd Army Corps continues to hold a small area between the destroyed villages of Nadiia and Novoiehorivka in the Luhansk region. In recent months, Russian forces have not carried out offensive operations in this area.
In June 2025, the head of the self-proclaimed LNR, Leonid Pasechnik, said that “literally two days ago a report came in that the territory of the Luhansk People’s Republic has been fully liberated, 100%.”
This translation was generated with AI
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow Meduza’s editorial standards — the result of extensive work to ensure our English-language coverage is prompt and accurate.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.