Belousov names the percentage of territories controlled by the AFU in the LNR and DNR

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) control less than 1% of the territories of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and 25-30% of the territories of the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions. This was reported by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov at an enlarged meeting of the department's board on December 16.

"This year Russian troops have liberated almost 4.5 thousand square kilometers of territory occupied by the enemy. Neo-Nazis control less than 1% of the territory of the Luhansk People's Republic and still 25-30% of the Donetsk People's Republic, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions," he said.

Belousov noted that the enemy's combat potential has been undermined.

In 2024, the AFU lost more than 560 thousand servicemen, and for the entire time of the special military operation Ukraine lost a million people, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry emphasized.

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Also at the board meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that 2024 was a landmark year in the issue of achieving the goals of the special operation. He also added that Russian troops firmly own the strategic initiative on the entire line of contact thanks to the professionalism and courage of fighters of the Armed Forces (AF) of the Russian Federation, the work of defense enterprises and the nationwide support of the army and navy.

Earlier, on December 14, Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleksandr Dubinskyy said that Ukraine would never be in a strong position in negotiations with the Russian Federation, given the dynamics of the last year and a half. Before that, he said that Ukraine had already lost in the conflict and that Donbas was actually lost to it. Dubinsky emphasized that Kiev's Western allies and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20, do not care about human losses.

On December 10, Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), said that the AFU is on the verge of collapse and the situation on the front is not in Kiev's favor. In the same month, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said that Kiev was already losing the Ukrainian conflict because Russia had a strong military advantage.

The special operation to defend Donbass, which Putin announced on February 24, 2022, is still ongoing. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.