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Russian forces currently occupy 1,877 Ukrainian cities and villages, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, speaking online at the German government's Ukraine solidarity event on Feb. 25.
As of Dec. 7, Ukraine has liberated 1,888 settlements, according to Zelensky. Hundreds of towns and villages were freed during Ukraine's operations driving Russians from parts of Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts in the fall.
Russia currently occupies large parts of eastern Ukrainian Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, parts of southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, as well as the Crimean Peninsula. The Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv Oblast also remains under occupation. Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts have been occupied by Russia since 2014.
"We fight on Ukrainian soil for that which you cannot imagine your lives without," Zelensky said in his speech. "This is basic security, it's freedom and life under the law, it's human dignity and the right of every person and community to respect themselves, this is the joy of living in a family and the ability to dream of a safe and free future for your children."
Zelensky pointed out that Russia is continually trying to capture more territory and destroy more Ukrainian lives.
He added that the city of Mariupol, now occupied by Russia, is more than 90% destroyed and is almost out of undamaged buildings.
