Ukraine's General Staff rejects Gerasimov's frontline claims, says Kyiv's forces have liberated more territory than Russia has captured

Why it matters

The public rebuttal by Ukraine's General Staff of specific Russian territorial claims goes to the core of the information war over the frontline. Disputes over control of multiple towns in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts — including strategically significant places like Dobropillia, Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Orikhiv — shape external perceptions of momentum in the war. The competing figures offered by the two sides — Russia's claimed gains versus Ukraine's claimed liberations — make this a high-stakes exchange about who controls the narrative on the front.

What happened

On October 17, Major Andriy Kovalov, spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, responded to a battlefield report delivered the previous day by Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Russian General Staff. Gerasimov had claimed that since 1 September Russian forces had captured more than 1,800 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory and 92 settlements. Kovalov said those figures did not correspond to reality and that, since the beginning of autumn, Ukraine's Defence Forces had in fact liberated more territory than Russia had captured.

Kovalov then walked through specific claims. He said the cities of Dobropillia and Kostiantynivka remained under Ukrainian control, with fighting continuing in Kostiantynivka as of the morning of October 17, and that Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka had not been captured. He rejected claims that Russian forces had reached the outskirts of Kramatorsk and that they controlled more than 50% of Mykolaivka, saying only a small Russian group had infiltrated Mykolaivka's southern outskirts and was being targeted in strike-and-search operations. He also rejected claims of an offensive in Sloviansk's suburbs.

On the Zaporizhzhia axis, Kovalov said Orikhiv, Novopavlivka and Novoandriivka all remained under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and that the line of combat engagement near Zaporizhzhia had for a long time remained about 22 kilometres from the city — not 5 kilometres, as Gerasimov had claimed. He called the repeated Russian claim of the capture of Velykomykhailivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast a fabrication, noting that the settlement remained under Ukrainian control with the contact line 8 kilometres east of it.

Kovalov also pointed back to a September 1 statement by Vladimir Putin claiming the capture of Sviatohirsk, which he said had been and remained under Ukrainian control. Separately, Ukrinform reported that during the fourth season of operation "Vivaldi", Ukrainian defence forces liberated three additional settlements in Donetsk Oblast and returned another 101 square kilometres of territory.

Where reporting differs

Russia's Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov claimed Russian forces had captured more than 1,800 square kilometres and 92 settlements since 1 September, while Ukraine's General Staff said those figures did not correspond to reality and that since the start of autumn Ukrainian forces had liberated more territory than Russia had captured. The two sides differ on the status of individual settlements: Gerasimov claimed Russia had captured Dobropillia, Kostiantynivka, Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka, Novopavlivka and Novoandriivka; Ukraine's General Staff said all remained under Ukrainian control as of the morning of October 17, with fighting ongoing in Kostiantynivka. Gerasimov said Russian forces had reached the outskirts of Kramatorsk and approached the southern outskirts of Zaporizhzhia to within 5 kilometres; Ukraine's General Staff said neither reflected the real frontline situation, putting the Zaporizhzhia contact line at about 22 kilometres from the city. Gerasimov claimed Russian control of more than 50% of Mykolaivka and an offensive in Sloviansk's suburbs; Ukraine's General Staff said only a small Russian group had infiltrated Mykolaivka's southern outskirts and was being eliminated. Russia has repeatedly claimed the capture of Velykomykhailivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, which Ukraine's General Staff said remained under Ukrainian control with the contact line 8 km east of it. Vladimir Putin's September 1 claim that Sviatohirsk had been captured is similarly disputed by Ukraine.

Background

The dispute centres on claims attributed to Russia's Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov in his October 16 report, which referenced advances toward Kramatorsk and Zaporizhzhia and the capture of numerous settlements since 1 September. Ukraine's General Staff has previously pointed to Russian claims that did not hold up, including Vladimir Putin's 1 September assertion that Sviatohirsk had been captured. Independent assessments such as those from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have been cited in the coverage alongside the official statements.