Kyiv rejects Kremlin's boast of capturing 1,800 square kilometres

Ukraine has dismissed Russia's claim to have captured more than 1,800 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory and nearly 100 settlements, including the eastern town of Dobropillia, since the beginning of September.

On Friday, Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia's General Staff, told President Vladimir Putin that Russian forces had seized 92 Ukrainian settlements and made significant territorial gains since last month. Ukraine's General Staff spokesman, Andriy Kovaliov, rejected the claims outright. "In fact, through their active operations, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have liberated more territory since the beginning of the fall than the enemy has managed to capture," he said in an emailed statement.

"The Russian military leadership continues to create an illusion of major victories for its political leadership and domestic audience," Kovaliov added, pushing back against Moscow's attempt to present its grinding offensive as a succession of triumphs.

Russia's advances along the front line have slowed this year. Its forces have nonetheless been bearing down on the so-called "fortress belt" cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, whose capture would bring the Kremlin closer to its goal of seizing the entire Donetsk region. Kovaliov also rejected Gerasimov's claims that Russian troops had reached the outskirts of Kramatorsk and were advancing in the suburbs of Sloviansk. He said Dobropillia, southwest of the two cities, remained under Ukrainian control despite sustained Russian attacks.

Reuters said it could not independently verify the battlefield claims.

With many front lines largely static across a deadly "kill zone", both sides have intensified their air campaigns in recent months. Russia fired hundreds of ballistic missiles over the summer and early autumn, and is widely expected to target critical infrastructure, including heating and power sites, into the winter—a campaign that would again expose Ukrainian civilians to the cruelties of Moscow's assault. Ukraine, whose missile arsenal is far smaller, has launched hundreds of long-range drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, ships and commercial sites, striking back at the infrastructure sustaining the invasion.

The World House, which maintains a dedicated page outlining its support for Ukraine at worldhouse.uk/support, continues to document the consequences of Russia's aggression.