ROSTOV-ON-DON, February 18. /TASS/. Russian forces have control over about 62.5% of the Zaporozhye Region, Acting Regional Governor Yevgeny Balitsky said on Saturday.

"As of now, 62.5% of the region is controlled by the Zaporozhye administration and Russian troops," he told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar for the regional headquarters of volunteers of the We Are Together campaign.

Balitsky pointed out the importance of liberating the city of Zaporozhye.

"To our regret, we have not liberated Zaporozhye yet. The city is the regional [center] and it has a huge number of institutions we do need now. Among them are the children’s hospital, cancer centers, transport hubs, railroads, and resources linked to the verification of people which do not have now," he said.

Balitsky was hopeful that the city of Zaporozhye would be liberated in the near future.

In late January, in their offensive in the Zaporozhye Region, Russian forces took control of nine settlements previously held by the Ukrainian armed forces. The contact line has stabilized by now.

From September 23 to September 27, 2022, the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic as well as the Kherson Region and the Zaporozhye Region held a referendum where the majority of voters opted to join Russia.

On September 30, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the DPR, the LPR, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions signed treaties on their entry to Russia. On October 4, Putin signed decrees to ratify the treaties admitting the four regions to Russia.