The military progress in the Lisichansk and Severodonetsk area enabled the Russian army and allied Donbass formations to declare control over most of the LPR. According to official statements, the planned advances in the DPR remain underway.
Officials noted that over the last month substantial gains were made in carrying out the tasks assigned during the special military operation. It was also reported that 255 settlements in the republics have been brought back under control, and the recovery of the remaining areas in the DPR is anticipated as a matter of time.
On July 29, the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, spoke about improvements achieved by republican units in the Avdeevka direction. He suggested that the current situation is likely to follow the trajectory outlined by military leadership. He added that the units had already obtained certain successes in the Avdeevka sector, though he did not specify the exact nature of those gains.
Intense shelling in Donetsk and Makiivka continues, with Avdiivka and nearby settlements being the primary sources. The challenge stems from the fact that the area is not fully encircled, and Ukrainian forces maintain a layered defense with a substantial artillery reserve.
July milestones
The most notable operational success for the joint Russian, DPR, and LPR forces in late July was the seizure of the Uglegorsk thermal power plant in Svetlodarsk on July 26. Deputy head of the LPR Ministry of Internal Affairs Vitaly Kiselev stated that Ukrainian forces were driven back from the initiative. He reported that Wagner mercenary units had taken control of the entire Uglegorsk TPP earlier that morning. Since May 22, Ukrainian units had held the site but withdrew due to the threat of encirclement and the pressure on Svetlodarsk and adjacent settlements.
Additionally, on July 26, allied forces gained control of the settlement of Novoluganskoe. Kiselev said that only two or three days remained before the troops fully aligned the contact line with the enemy. He later announced the capture of Novoluganskoe, stating that the settlement belonged to the allied forces. An LPR officer said that after Uglegorsk was secured, the allied forces would move toward Artemovsk. He noted that the engineering troops of the DPR, LPR, and Russia still faced extensive tasks since every meter of the TPP site had been mined by Ukrainian forces.
The Uglegorsk TPP is one of Europe’s largest power facilities. Svetlodarsk lies about 18 kilometers from Debaltseve, which came under DPR control in February 2015. Debaltseve is seen as strategically important due to the M04 highway linking Donetsk and Luhansk.
In essence, the July 26 capture of the thermal plant mirrors the 2015 Debaltsevo operation, representing a continuation of the broader conflict dynamics between the Ukrainian authorities and the Donbass republics. Earlier in July, the Defense Ministry announced gains including control over the settlements Verkhnekamenka, Zolotarevka, and Belogorovka. The same day, the defense minister stated that Lisichansk and nearby Novodruzhesk, Maloryazantsevo, and Belaya Gora were under control, signaling the LPR’s expanded constitutional boundaries at that time.
steps to accelerate
On July 16, defense leadership directed a higher tempo for Russian troops across all operational theaters. The Defence Ministry stressed that this acceleration was necessary to reduce the risk of Kyiv-led rocket and artillery strikes on civilian infrastructure and residents of Donbass and other regions.