PUTIN: LUHANSK PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC FULLY UNDER CONTROL OF RUSSIAN FORCES

MOSCOW, OCTOBER 16 /SRNA – RIA Novosti/ – The Luhansk People’s Republic /LPR/ is fully under the control of Russian armed forces, President Vladimir Putin has said.

"The LPR is fully under our control," Putin said during a visit to an auxiliary command post of the Russian military.

Putin added that, since the beginning of 2026, the Russian military had liberated approximately 6,500 square kilometres of territory and more than 300 settlements.

"Just over 10 per cent of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic and 16.5 per cent of the Zaporizhzhia Region remain under the control of the Kyiv regime," the Russian president said.

Putin stressed that the Russian armed forces had been tasked "not only with driving the enemy out of our territory, but also with establishing a security zone in neighbouring territory," adding that this task was "being successfully carried out".

"Our goal is to ensure the absolute security of Russia’s border regions for the future, and we do not intend to make this a subject of potential peace negotiations with Ukraine," Putin said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the planned security zone would extend for 660 kilometres, of which 70 per cent is currently under Russian control.