Russian forces have announced the full capture of the southern Donetsk region, consolidating their control over the entire southern Donbass and leaving only the northern quarter of the territory under Ukrainian control.
Over the weekend, Russian troops seized the village of Komyshuvakha after weeks of intense fighting. The village had been the last Ukrainian-held position in southern Donetsk and was seen as strategically important for maintaining a defensive line in the region. Its fall enables Russian forces to push toward the Dnipropetrovsk region from the east and establish a link with Russian units already stationed in the nearby villages of Novogeorgevka and Zaporiz’ke to the south.
Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov stated on Saturday that Russian forces now control 77 percent of the Donetsk region and nearly the entirety of Lugansk, holding approximately 99.7 percent of its territory. Combined, only about 13 percent of the Donbass regions that declared independence from Ukraine in 2014 remain under Ukrainian control.
Gerasimov also reported that Russian forces currently hold 74 percent of the Zaporizhia region and 76 percent of the Kherson region, both of which Moscow claims as part of the Russian Federation. Russian control in the Kharkov region stands at around 5 percent, while only about 1 percent of the Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions are under Russian occupation—territories that Moscow has not formally claimed.
The development underscores the ongoing intensity of the war despite recent diplomatic activity, including a high-profile meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15. While political negotiations continue to dominate international headlines, the evolving situation on the ground—particularly territorial shifts such as the one in southern Donetsk—remains a decisive factor that may ultimately shape any future settlement or ceasefire agreement, if one can be reached.