(MENAFN) The governor of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), Leonid Pasechnik, announced on Monday that Russian military forces have fully secured control over the entire territory of the LPR. Pasechnik made this statement during a live broadcast on Russia’s Channel One.

“Just two days ago, a report came in that the territory of the Luhansk People’s Republic had been fully liberated, 100%,” Pasechnik declared.

However, the Russian Defense Ministry has not yet officially confirmed the governor’s announcement.

During the 2022 summer offensive, Russian troops captured Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, the two largest cities in the area previously held by Ukraine. Soon after, they extended control over the surrounding regions, and since then, the front lines within the LPR have largely remained unchanged.

Until recently, Ukrainian forces maintained control over roughly 100 square kilometers in the northwest of the LPR. This included territory north of the town of Makeevka, consisting of several villages that have since been abandoned and destroyed.

Ukraine also continued to hold the Serebryanskoye forestry, a densely wooded area north of the Seversky Donets River, which marks the boundary between the LPR and the neighboring Donetsk People’s Republic.

This forested zone has been the site of intense trench warfare, with both sides unable to gain significant ground for several months.

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