Ukraine's Foreign Ministry refutes Putin's claim that Kyiv controls only 10% of Donbas

Diplomatic refutation of Russian data

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine officially reacted to public statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the state of the frontline. According to the MFA, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha emphasised that the Russian side is attempting to create a false impression of the situation among international partners.

Sybiha noted that the claim that only 10% of the unoccupied territories of Donbas remain under Kyiv's control is untrue. "This is not true. Ukraine controls 20% of the territories. Ukraine is much stronger than last year," the head of diplomacy stated.

Statements at an October meeting

As reported by the media outlet "Vazhlivi Istoryi" ("Important Stories"), in mid-October Vladimir Putin visited the auxiliary command post of the Russian Combined Group of Forces. During the meeting, he claimed that since the beginning of 2026, the Russian armed forces had allegedly captured approximately 6,500 square kilometres of territory and 310 settlements.

According to Putin, only about 10% of Donetsk Oblast and 16.5% of Zaporizhzhia Oblast remain under Ukrainian control.

Data from independent analysts

The official statements by the Russian leader contradict the calculations of independent analytical centres. According to data from the DeepState project, Russian troops control approximately 80% of the territory of Donetsk Oblast. This means that about 20% of the region remains under Ukrainian control, which is twice as much as Putin claims.

Operation "Vivaldi" and the results of the Armed Forces

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believe that the Ukrainian counteroffensive near Lyman, known as Operation "Vivaldi", disrupted Russian plans to encircle the so-called "belt of fortresses", which includes Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, and Kostiantynivka.

According to data from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian troops liberated 277 square kilometres of territory and 16 settlements. Despite these figures, Putin continues to claim that the Russian offensive has accelerated and is ongoing along the entire frontline.