In a recording published last Sunday by the Kremlin, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov informed President Vladimir Putin that up to 10,000 people had been “surrounded” near Kupyansk in the Kharkiv Oblast and Pokrovsk, one of the last important strongholds of Kiev in the Donetsk Oblast. Ukrainian soldiers.
— This has no basis in reality, military expert Ivan Stupak, a former officer of the Ukrainian security service SBU, tells The Moscow Times, commenting on Gerasimov's claims.
A still from a recording published by the Press Office of the President of Russia showing Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces General Valery Gerasimov while giving a report, Russia, October 26, 2025.EPA/RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE / HANDOUT / PAP
Not only Ukrainians deny the information provided by the Russian general to Vladimir Putin.
Even some Russian military correspondents questioned Gerasimov's statement, even though “in some cases they tend to agree with Russian propaganda,” Stupak notes.
In a post titled “Enemies have again infiltrated Comrade Gerasimov's circle,” a pro-war Telegram channel called Voyenny Osvedomitel (Russian: War Informant) informed its 620,000 followers. followers that there are currently “no laps” [ukraińskich pozycji przez rosyjskich żołnierzy].
“It is very unlikely that multi-thousand Ukrainian forces will still be stuck in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad agglomeration. The modern reality is that the fighting is carried out by small infantry units, both in defense and attack,” the author stated in the post.
“This also applies to Kupiańska, where, according to reports, 18 Ukrainian battalions were allegedly surrounded,” he added.
“Perhaps Gerasimov, with his boasts and 'ahead of his time' reports, is once again ahead of reality, hoping that it will soon catch up with his reports,” said the channel's author.
War correspondent Andrei Filatov also called Gerasimov's report “premature,” adding that “taking control of logistics does not yet mean encirclement.”
The pro-war Telegram channel Bayraktar's Witnesses stated that “our soldiers are in Pokrovsk, but there are no visible armored columns entering the built-up areas of the city. Small groups are infiltrating the city and clearing it very carefully.”
In turn, the Tactical Medicine Courses channel, which deals with military medicine and raises funds for the war in Ukraine, noted that the Russian army had surrounded Pokrovsk “so that the distance between the flanks is almost six km,” suggesting that the Russian military had not completely surrounded it.
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The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), however, stated that it “did not observe evidence to support Gerasimov's claims.”
Michael Kofman, senior research fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also stated that “there is no massive encirclement of Ukrainian forces in Kupiansk, and many other claims [Gierasimowa] are equally untrue.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called the Russian army's report a “lie.”
—Russia was showing them [amerykańskim urzędnikom] maps on which Pokrovsk was already marked as captured, claiming that they had reached the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and occupied 90 percent. eastern Ukraine… In my opinion, they do not have results that they could “sell” to the Americans, Zelensky said, referring to attempts to continue peace talks between Moscow and Washington regarding Ukraine.
The Ukrainian general staff said on Sunday that the situation near Pokrovsk remained “complicated” and confirmed that 200 Russian troops were stationed there, while Kiev “repulsed four enemy attacks” near Kupyansk.
On Tuesday, Ukrainians said that the day before, Russian forces carried out 79 attack attempts in the direction of Pokrovsk and nine attacks near Kupyansk.
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According to Stupak Pokrovsk is of great importance for the Russian army's progress in the Donetsk Oblast, which Moscow considers its territory. However, from the point of view of infrastructure, the capture of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk [przez Rosjan] it would simply mean another Ukrainian city completely destroyed by war, like Bakhmut and Avdiivka before it.
“Putin and Gerasimov's claims of battlefield victories are part of an ongoing cognitive war [manipulacji i propagandy] Kremlin, aimed at falsely presenting Russian victory as inevitable,” ISW analysts said.
Gerasimov has previously exaggerated his reports of Russia's summer offensive in August, claiming significant victories in eastern and southern Ukraine. Then experts and pro-war bloggers stated that the scale of these gains had been exaggerated.
Stupak said such statements from the Russian general staff are likely “part of an information war that also influences the minds and will of people” — aimed at creating the impression that the Ukrainian front is collapsing.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
