The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery Gerasimov, has just announced the results of the 2025 spring-summer campaign, and identified long-term tasks for the troops in Ukraine, according to the announcement from the Russian Ministry of Defense.
He stressed that the strategic initiative is now wholly in Russias hands, as the countrys military maintains continuous attacks along almost the entire front line.
According to Gerasimov, the Russian military has now taken 99.7 percent of Lugansk, with less than 60 square kilometres of Ukraine, along with 79% of Donetsk. In the South, Russia has held 74% of Zaporizhzhia and 76% of Kherson, and has announced it will continue to take control of the remaining areas.
In the past, Russian trophies have won more Malinovka and Temirovka in Zaporizhzhia. The army also carried out airstrikes on many Ukrainian industrial and military targets, including the Yuzhmash plant, Yangel Design Bureau, Motor Sich engine manufacturer, and the Pavlograd Chemical Factory assembly plant.
Gerasimov said that in the spring and summer months alone, Russia has attacked 76 key targets, prioritizing the destruction of Ukrainian missile and long-range UAV production facilities.
In the Sumy region, the Russian army has captured an additional 210 square kilometers and 13 residential areas. Since March, Moscow has said it has taken control of more than 3,500 square kilometres of territory and 149 settlements.
In Kharkov, the Russian army continues to fight to improve its position in the direction of Volchansk and Liptsy. In Dnepropetrovsk, 7 new residential areas have been put under control. In the direction of Krasny Liman, Russian forces announced that they had destroyed the enemy in Kirovsk, while in Rubtsovsk, the Russian army advanced 25km deep into the front line, occupying 10 more settlements.
In addition, Russia affirmed that it is completing the encroachment of the Ukrainian army group in the Serebryanskoye forest, close to the Seversky Donets riverbank. At the same time, Moscow has set up a security belt along the border of Sumy and Kharkov provinces.
In the summary message, Mr. Gerasimov emphasized the long-term goal of maintaining the initiative and continuing to expand the control zone in Donbass as well as Southern Ukraine. The Russian trophies, he said, have been assigned new tasks for the next phase of the campaign.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a comprehensive framework on assuring security for Kiev in the event of a ceasefire or peace with Russia will be ready as early as next week.
In a Telegram post, Zelensky said he had discussed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Putin, stressing that the two sides had discussed further diplomatic steps to resolve the conflict.
There have been many discussions on security guarantees. National security advisers are currently working on a detailed implementation of each component, and the entire framework will be finalized in writing next week, Zelensky added.
