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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, Mr Pasechnik.

Where shall we begin? Let’s begin with the real economy.

Head of the Lugansk People’s Republic Leonid Pasechnik: Mr President,

Here is what I have to report. Regrettably, the situation in the republic remains complicated and tense. The main reason is that there is a line of battle contact, with active combat operations, in our territory. Much to our regret, this is having its effect on the situation as a whole.

However, we are more or less in control of the situation, thanks to the efforts of our service personnel, our country’s Armed Forces and the law enforcement officers, who are also operating in the republic, so that we can implement the tasks that you, the Government and our people are setting for us, as well as other tasks that need to be fulfilled now.

I would like to begin with the industry. We are now working actively in this sphere, with support from the Government and our sponsor regions. We are actively rebuilding the enterprises which stopped working after 2014, as well as the facilities that continued operations but were funded, were developing residually. Today, we are trying to put absolutely all enterprises back to their feet, as they say, including by attracting investors. We are using the opportunities of the special economic zone, which offers benefits, towards this end. I believe that we can report positive results in this sphere, despite the current challenges.

Our main task is to focus on people, of course. We are working towards the goal you have set for us, which is to reach the country’s average socioeconomic indicators by 2030.

Here is what our industrial structure looks like today: metallurgy accounts for 77.4 percent, food industry about 12 percent, engineering 6.3 percent, and other sectors four percent. Of course, there is still a great deal to be done, and there is room for improvement, so we will continue to work actively towards this end.

To agriculture. I pay a lot of attention to this issue as well, because I regard it as an important development vector for our republic, which can have a positive effect on the economy as a whole. In 2024, we produced 14.5 billion rubles worth of agricultural products. To our great regret, however, this is not the result we had hoped for. It was affected by spring frosts and the summer drought: there was not a single rain in the Lugansk Republic in 2024, not a single one!

Vladimir Putin: This year was also very hot.

Leonid Pasechnik: But at least it rained. True, it was hot. The heat is actually abnormal, everything is scorched.

But this year, we have a very good grain harvest. We have reached the planned targets. We planned about one million tonnes but have already harvested 1,200,000 tonnes.

At the same time, despite the difficult conditions in 2024, we harvested large quantities of sunflower seeds and made almost seven times as much sunflower oil than we had planned.

We are active in implementing the plan to bring new agricultural lands under cultivation and carry out their cadastral registration. I have also been focusing on this issue. We are active in supporting our agricultural producers. In 2024, we allocated a total of three billion rubles for agriculture. These were direct subsidies extended to our agricultural producers. These measures helped us double the output and create additional jobs. Between 2025 and 2027, we are planning to allocate five billion rubles to the agricultural sector.

(Leonid Pasechnik further described how the LPR was restoring what had been destroyed during the hostilities in its territory and specified what help it had received from its sponsor regions, including the Volgograd Region and Moscow, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin personally. Rehabilitation of housing and underground utility lines and overhauling of roads and bridges are underway. He also reported about his region’s involvement in implementing Russia’s national projects.

The Head of the LPR also spoke about the support for participants in the special military operation. In 2025, various support measures were offered to 12,000 SMO participants and their families. Work is in progress to upgrade the Centre for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities in Lugansk. The Sosnovy Camp in stanitsa Luganskaya is being converted into a rehabilitation centre. It is a recreation zone with pines and sand that will offer comprehensive assistance to war veterans, including medical checkups, counselling, selection of prostheses, and equipment-aided walking drills with them on. Leonid Pasechnik also said that Lugansk’s prosthetic and orthopaedic plant would be turned over to Rostec Corporation that promised to install advanced equipment to manufacture most sophisticated prosthetics, including bionic limbs.)

In conclusion of my brief report, Mr President, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to you, to our Government, our entire multi-ethnic nation, and all the regions for the assistance they have been providing to the Donbass republics, and the Lugansk People’s Republic specifically.

Experience has proven that we succeed when we work together, when we are united. I believe there are no unsolvable problems for us.

Thank you very much. We will not let you down.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. I have absolutely no doubt.

I have a few questions. Now, I see that 16.5 billion rubles have been allocated for 2025–2027, with the largest spending programmes being Ecological Well-Being and Long and Active Life. Looking at the Ecological Well-Being project – what will the funds primarily be used for?

Leonid Pasechnik: Mr President, our rivers are in a terrible state. I am making extensive efforts to preserve our water bodies because, for example, a reservoir that is used to supply water to several municipalities (Krasny Luch, Antratsit, and Petrovka) has all but dried up.

Vladimir Putin: So, is the programme primarily about water supply, then?

Leonid Pasechnik: Yes, water supply is a major part of it. However, the programme also covers reclaiming shut-down mines and dealing with our remaining spoil heaps, which are currently burning and causing significant problems.

Another key element is reforestation. Unfortunately, forests are becoming a major issue for the republic. Last year, we had a situation where I even had to bring in the military – a school in the village of Olkhovaya, in the Stanichno-Lugansky District, was flooded. We discovered that back in the 1960s – in the Soviet era – pine trees were planted there to drain the marshy terrain and make it habitable.

With the recent war, much of that forest burned down or was cut down. Now the water is rising again, and people are complaining of water in their basements. So, I will be asking the working group, and Marat Khusnullin, for help to restore all of this. We may not see these trees fully regrown in our lifetime, but we must take action for our children’s future.

Vladimir Putin: Why wouldn’t you? Modern planting techniques can use larger saplings.

I understand. Thank you.

An amount of 443 million was allocated to the Long and Active Life national project. Is this primarily healthcare?

Leonid Pasechnik: It is medicine; this encompasses also sports grounds, parks, and running tracks. I believe we must absolutely continue working in this direction. It is essential to instil in our children a love for sport and to overcome harmful habits.

Vladimir Putin: Another question, one of critical importance for the entire country but particularly for the Lugansk People’s Republic – personnel. How is work progressing in this area?

Leonid Pasechnik: We are currently implementing your instruction – I simply have not yet reached this point, trying to keep my response brief. We are working with the Heroes of the Lugansk Region personnel project. We believe that those who have gained combat experience and proven through their actions – indeed, through their very lives – that they are indeed ready to give their lives for our country are true patriots, true citizens of our nation with sound civic values and with the right attitude.

I am confident that they wish to continue serving our country, though perhaps in a different capacity – as managers, executives, workers, or government officials. We are certain that they will pursue the right goals, which will preclude any possibility of corruption or similar issues.

Thus, we have now selected 40 finalists of the Heroes of the Lugansk Region project, 14 of whom remain in active service. Upon their return, we will begin working closely with them. I have spoken with these young men – they are highly motivated, driven to succeed, and full of enthusiasm, despite some having lost limbs. Yet they are strong in spirit. This is extremely important.

Vladimir Putin: You now have your own regional republican programme, correct?

Leonid Pasechnik: Yes, last year we launched our regional programme, The Lugansk Character. There is no other programme like that in Russia. It revives the finest traditions of the Soviet-era pioneer organisation.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

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