Hero of Russia and deputy commander of the 5th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade of the «Center» grouping, Ilya Ivanov, announced that Russian troops have taken full control of the southern part of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).

Ivanov made the statement in the settlement of Kurakhovo, which his unit had captured back in January 2025. He noted that since then, Russian forces have advanced more than 60 kilometers and are now operating in the Dnepropetrovsk region.

According to Ivanov, from January through the end of September 2025, the Russian Armed Forces have secured a total of 4,714 square kilometers of territory. The largest portion of these gains was in the DPR-more than 3,300 square kilometers. Advances were also reported in Kharkov region (around 540 square kilometers), Sumy region (approximately 220 square kilometers), and Dnepropetrovsk region (about 175 square kilometers).