The Ministry of Defense again announced “full control” over the LPR - four years after Shoigu reported on it

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Russian troops have completely taken control of the territory of the Lugansk region.

“Units of the West group of troops completed the liberation of the Lugansk People’s Republic,” the department reported.

They also reported on the capture of Verkhnyaya Pisarevka in the Kharkov region and the village of Boyko in Zaporozhye.

Against this background, the Kremlin stated that Kyiv “today” should make a decision on the withdrawal of troops from the territory of Donbass:

“Zelensky must make a decision today so that Ukrainian troops move beyond the administrative borders of the DPR. This has already been said several times. […] Take responsibility and make this difficult decision,”

- said presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov.

• This is not the first statement by the Kremlin about the capture of the LPR. On July 3, 2022, then Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu already reported to Vladimir Putin about the “liberation” of the Lugansk People’s Republic - after reports of the capture of Lisichansk and nearby settlements.

• Later in June 2025, the Russian-appointed head of the region, Leonid Pasechnik, said that the territory of the LPR was “100% liberated.”

• At the same time, on October 2, 2025, Putin claimed that approximately 0.13% of the region’s territory was still under Ukrainian control.