Ukraine's foreign minister debunks Putin's claim that Kyiv controls just 10% of Donbas
Photo: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (x.com/andrii_sybiha)
Russian leader Vladimir Putin is talking nonsense when he claims that Ukraine controls only 10% of Donbas. Ukraine's diplomatic corps has debunked his statements, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
Putin's claims about Donbas are false
According to Sybiha, Putin is trying to spread false information among Ukraine's partners about the extent of Kyiv's control over Donbas. He claims that only 10% of the territory remains under Ukrainian control.
"This is not true. Ukraine controls 20% of the territory. Ukraine is much stronger than it was last year," Sybiha said.
Putin's false claims
In mid-October, Putin visited an auxiliary command post of the Russian Joint Forces Grouping.
During a meeting there, he claimed that Russian forces had allegedly seized around 6,500 square kilometers of territory and 310 settlements since the beginning of 2026.
According to Putin, only about 10% of the Donetsk region and 16.5% of the Zaporizhzhia region supposedly remain under Ukrainian control.
Putin's claims contradict estimates by independent analysts. According to DeepState, Russian forces control approximately 80% of the Donetsk region. Ukraine retains control of around 20% of the region (twice as much as Putin claims).
Ukraine's counteroffensive near Lyman, known as Operation Vivaldi, has thwarted Russian plans to encircle the fortress belt, which includes Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukraine has liberated 277 square kilometers of territory and 16 settlements.
Despite this, Putin continues to claim that the Russian offensive has accelerated and is continuing along the entire front line.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Putin considers strikes on Ukraine retaliation for drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and storage facilities. He has threatened to destroy all of Ukraine's infrastructure by 2027.
In addition, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that phone calls to Russian leader Vladimir Putin are pointless. It will just be another history lecture rather than actual steps to end the war.
