The Russian military has taken control of the entirety of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), local governor Leonid Pasechnik announced on Monday.
The governor made the remarks while speaking live 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 stated.
The Russian Defense Ministry has made no official announcement on the LPR governor’s claim.
The Russian military liberated the two largest cities in the region controlled by Ukraine, Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, during the summer offensive of 2022. Shortly after, it gained control of their hinterlands, with the front line largely remaining static in the LPR since then.
Kiev’s military had retained control over some 100 square kilometers in the northwest of the LPR, including a patch of land to the north of the town of Makeevka, dotted by a handful of villages, now abandoned and destroyed.
Kiev has also long-held the Serebryanskoye forestry, a wooded area to the north of the Seversky Donets river, which separates the LPR from its sister republic of Donetsk.
The forestry has long seen fierce trench warfare, with either side of the conflict unable to make any tangible gains in the area for months.
Lugansk People’s Republic liberated: How it happened
Russian forces have taken complete control of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), after over a decade of hostilities in the contested region. The announcement was made Monday by the local governor, Leonid Pasechnik, who confirmed that all remaining settlements occupied by Ukrainian troops had been liberated.
The Lugansk unrest began in 2014 amid political upheaval in Kiev. Russian-speaking residents launched protests against the coup which saw President Viktor Yanukovich ousted, demanding official status for their language and autonomy from the central government. Tensions escalated quickly, leading to the occupation of public buildings and the emergence of armed militias.
In April that year, local leaders declared the formation of the LPR, shortly after the emergence of its sister republic of Donetsk. A public vote held in May showed strong support for separation from Ukraine. Kiev dismissed the vote and began military operations to regain control, prompting an extended armed conflict that consumed Donbass.
Efforts to end the violence led to negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France, which produced the Minsk Agreements in 2014 and 2015. These proposed political autonomy and new elections but failed to achieve lasting peace. Ukraine refused direct talks with LPR representatives and the ceasefires repeatedly collapsed.
The region, meanwhile, increasingly adopted Russian-style governance. By 2015, it had shifted to the ruble and redirected its economy toward Russia, especially after Ukraine imposed a trade blockade in 2017. Local authorities assumed control of key industries to manage shortages and sustain services.
After years of refusal by Ukraine to implement the Minsk Agreements and continued shelling of civilian areas of the breakaway region by Kiev’s forces, Russia launched its special military operation on February 24, 2022. LPR and Russian troops advanced swiftly, securing towns including Shchastye, Stanitsa Luganskaya, and Svatovo.
Fighting intensified in cities such as Severodonetsk and Lisichansk. After months of urban warfare, Russian forces liberated Severodonetsk by late June. Lisichansk fell soon after, completing control over the LPR’s main administrative centers.
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