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Russian President Vladimir Putin said the military had taken control of the city of Dobropillya in Ukraine's Donetsk region, describing the capture as an important development that opens a direct route to the borders of what Russia calls the Donetsk People's Republic.

Putin made the remarks during a visit to a command post of Russia's Joint Forces Group, where he met Chief of the General Staff Valeriy Gerasimov and unit commanders and reviewed the course of what Moscow calls its special military operation.

Claims of territorial gains

Putin told the meeting that Russian forces had seized 6,500 square kilometres of territory and 310 settlements since the beginning of 2026. He said the "Kyiv regime" still held a little over 10 percent of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic and 16.5 percent of Zaporizhzhia region, while the Lugansk People's Republic was now fully under Russian control.

Putin also said the army was continuing to create a "security belt" in border areas following Ukraine's attack on Russia's Kursk region. "Our goal is to ensure the absolute security of Russia's border areas in the future. We do not intend to make this a subject of possible peace negotiations with Ukraine," he said. He added that Russian strikes on Ukraine's military and industrial complex and infrastructure were a response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian industrial and energy facilities.

Dobropillya captured, Putin says

Speaking about the front line, Putin announced that Russian forces had taken control of Dobropillya in Donetsk region. "The liberation of the Donetsk People's Republic undoubtedly remains one of our main goals," he said, calling the capture of the city by central group forces an important development that opens a direct route to the borders of the territory.

Gerasimov reports on the front line

Gerasimov reported that since 1 September Russian forces had taken more than 1,800 square kilometres and 92 settlements along the entire front line. In September and the first two weeks of October, about 500 square kilometres and 23 settlements in the Donetsk People's Republic came under Russian control, Gerasimov said, adding that central forces had "liberated" Dobropillya, which was described as one of the enemy's main defensive hubs in the Dnipropetrovsk direction. Gerasimov said the aim was to bring the entire Donbas region under control.

According to Gerasimov, Russian forces shot down more than 15,000 aerial targets in September alone, an average of more than 500 a day. He said Ukraine, unable to succeed at the front, had intensified attacks on civilian infrastructure deep inside Russia, and that the average number of Ukrainian drones and missiles downed per day had risen fivefold from around 120 in January.

Strikes on Ukrainian industry and logistics

Gerasimov said 12 large-scale strikes had been carried out against Ukraine since September, hitting 30 military-industrial facilities and logistics centres involved in producing and storing missiles and drones, as well as 14 fuel, energy and transport infrastructure sites. The strikes had significantly weakened Ukraine's capacity to produce long-range weapons, including cruise and ballistic missiles, and complicated equipment supplies to industry and energy, he claimed.

Attacks on Ukrainian metallurgical plants had halted steel production and put nine metallurgical enterprises out of action, Gerasimov said. He also reported systematic strikes on port and logistics infrastructure and vessels, saying 76 logistics and storage centres, 203 port infrastructure facilities and 93 ships used to carry military cargo to Ukraine had been hit.

Key takeaways

• Putin said Russian forces captured Dobropillya in Donetsk region, opening a route toward the borders of the Donetsk People's Republic
• Russia claims to have taken 6,500 square kilometres and 310 settlements since the start of 2026
• Gerasimov said more than 15,000 aerial targets were downed in September, over 500 a day
• Twelve large-scale strikes since September hit 30 military-industrial and logistics sites, Gerasimov said