Ukrainian commander films from Sviatohirsk to rebut Putin's capture claim
Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, commander of Ukraine's Third Army Corps, recorded a video address from central Sviatohirsk on 7 September, saying the 60th Mechanized Brigade fully controls the city and treats it as a Ukrainian rear area. The video directly contradicts claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Ministry of Defense that Russian forces had captured Sviatohirsk, made on 1 September at a press conference in Bishkek following an SCO summit.
Key points
- Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky recorded a video address from central Sviatohirsk on 7 September, published by the Third Army Corps.
- Biletsky stated that the 60th Mechanized Brigade of the Third Army Corps fully controls Sviatohirsk, calling the city effectively a Ukrainian rear zone.
- Biletsky said one can walk around Sviatohirsk without problems, though in body armor.
- On 1 September, at a press conference in Bishkek after an SCO summit, Putin claimed Russian forces had captured 14 Ukrainian settlements, including Sviatohirsk; the Russian MoD repeated the claim.
- The Donetsk Oblast Military Administration said on 6 August that Sviatohirsk remains under Ukrainian control despite heavy Russian shelling, with the city military administration head Volodymyr Rybalkin reported to be in the city.
- ISW analysts said the Russian capture claim is far from reality and unsupported by evidence, estimating Russian forces were at least 13 km from Sviatohirsk in late spring/early summer 2026 and are likely farther now after Ukrainian counter-offensive operations near Lyman.
- DeepState maps do not show Sviatohirsk or Kozacha Lopan as under Russian occupation; Ukraine also denies Russian claims of capturing Kozacha Lopan in Kharkiv Oblast.
Why it matters
The video provides on-the-ground visual evidence from a senior Ukrainian commander personally demonstrating Ukrainian presence in Sviatohirsk, directly refuting official Russian claims made days earlier at an international forum. ISW analysts and a Kremlin-linked Russian war correspondent reportedly acknowledged the footage as evidence against the Russian claim, weakening Moscow's information operations. The episode illustrates a recurring pattern in which battlefield announcements by Russian leadership at international venues diverge from verifiable ground reality, and it underscores Sviatohirsk's symbolic and strategic weight given its location in Donetsk Oblast and proximity to the Sviatohirsk Lavra.
What happened
On 7 September, Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, commander of Ukraine's Third Army Corps, recorded a video address from the center of Sviatohirsk with the Holy Dormition Sviatohirsk Lavra in the background. The Third Army Corps published the video the same day. In it, Biletsky stated that the 60th Mechanized Brigade of the Third Army Corps fully controls Sviatohirsk and that the city functions as a Ukrainian rear area, adding that one can move around the city without problems, though in body armor. He addressed Russian military and political leadership, urging them to take off their 'clown noses and colorful wigs' and not look like fools. The address was a direct response to statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 1 September, made at a press conference in Bishkek after a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, claiming that Russian forces had captured 14 Ukrainian settlements, including Sviatohirsk. The Russian Ministry of Defense repeated the claim. The Donetsk Oblast Military Administration said on 6 August that Sviatohirsk remains under Ukrainian control despite constant Russian shelling and a nearby front line, and reported that Sviatohirsk City Military Administration head Volodymyr Rybalkin was in the city. ISW analysts said the Russian capture claim is far from reality and unsupported by evidence, and estimated Russian forces were at least 13 km from Sviatohirsk in late spring/early summer 2026 and are likely even farther following Ukrainian counter-offensive operations near Lyman. DeepState maps do not show Sviatohirsk or Kozacha Lopan as under Russian occupation; Ukraine also denied Russian claims of capturing Kozacha Lopan in Kharkiv Oblast.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All available sources are Ukrainian, and they uniformly center Biletsky's on-the-ground refutation of Russian claims and emphasize Ukrainian control of Sviatohirsk as a rear zone. Coverage foregrounds statements from military leadership (Biletsky), the Foreign Minister (Andriy Sybiha), and international observers (ISW) to challenge Moscow's narrative. Headlines prominently feature Biletsky's provocative address to Russian leadership — 'clown noses', 'don't look like fools' — and Sybiha's characterization that 'Putin lies as easily as he breathes'. Ukrainian reporting stresses the gap between Russian official statements delivered at an international forum and verifiable ground reality.
Where reporting differs
Putin and the Russian Ministry of Defense assert that Russian forces captured Sviatohirsk, along with other settlements including Kozacha Lopan, on or around 1 September; Ukraine's Third Army Corps, the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration, DeepState maps, and ISW analysts state that Sviatohirsk remains under Ukrainian control and is effectively a Ukrainian rear area. Putin's claim was made at a 1 September press conference in Bishkek following an SCO summit, while the actual fighting and control status of Sviatohirsk on that date is contested between Russian and Ukrainian sources.
Background
On 26 August, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Defense Force positions in Donetsk Oblast would be reinforced by two reformed groupings commanded by Heroes of Ukraine Denys Prokopenko and Andriy Biletsky. On 6 August, the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration said Sviatohirsk remained under Ukrainian control, though the front was nearby and Russia was heavily shelling the city, and reported that Sviatohirsk City Military Administration head Volodymyr Rybalkin was in the city. ISW analysts assess that Russian forces came within at least 13 km of Sviatohirsk in late spring – early summer 2026 and are likely even farther away now due to Ukrainian counter-offensive operations near Lyman.