At a meeting on the current situation in the zone of the special military operation, Russian President Vladimir Putin heard a report that the city of Seversk in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has been placed under full control of the Russian Armed Forces.

Key points of the meeting.

On the liberation of Seversk

• The Ukrainian armed forces expected that Russian troops would become bogged down in the Seversk fortified area, but this did not happen.
• He noted that the promise to liberate the town by December 15 was fulfilled.
• The liberation of Seversk brings us closer to new successful offensives and the expulsion of the Ukrainian forces from Donbass, Putin said.
• A report to President Putin from assault unit personnel was interrupted due to interference from enemy electronic warfare systems, said Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov.
• 3rd Army Commander Igor Kuzmenkov said that search and elimination operations are currently being conducted in the city of Seversk to find and eliminate individual Ukrainian troops attempting to hide in buildings.

On the strategic initiative and the dynamics of the special military operation

• The strategic initiative is completely in the hands of the Russian Armed Forces, Putin stated.
• The head of state also praised the "positive momentum" in the liberation of Donbass and Novorossiya.

On the progress of the special military operation

• In the Battlegroup North area of responsibility, the main efforts are focused on increasing the depth of the security zone in the border areas of the Sumy and Kharkov Regions, Gerasimov said.
• He also reported the liberation of Kucherovka and Kurilovka in the Kharkov Region.
• Gerasimov stated that 45% of the buildings in Konstantinovka have come under the control of the Russian Armed Forces.
• According to him, entire southern part of Dimitrov has been liberated. Fighting continues in the center, north, and northeast of the city.
• He also reported that fighters from Russia’s Battlegroup East are conducting an offensive in the south of the Dnepropetrovsk Region.
• Street fighting is also ongoing in Gulyaipole, Gerasimov stated.
• Furthermore, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces reported that Battlegroup West fighters are conducting combat operations on the left bank of the Oskol River.
• According to him, the tasks of liberating the Donetsk People’s Republic, Lugansk People’s Republic, and the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions are being carried out in accordance with the approved plan.

***