Zelenskyy says Ukraine holds more territory than Russia has taken since autumn, pushes back on Gerasimov's Zaporizhzhia claims

Why it matters

The statement is a direct public rebuttal, by name, of recent high-level Russian claims about advances toward Zaporizhzhia and the capture of specific settlements. By tying the rebuttal to a positive framing of autumn territorial gains and naming units he credits with results, Zelenskyy is shaping both domestic and allied perceptions of the trajectory of the war. The competing distance figures (5 km, 20 km, 25 km) and competing claims over Dobropillia, Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka and Malokaterynivka make the information warfare dimension of the conflict unusually concrete.

What happened

On October 18, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an evening address in which he said Ukrainian forces have liberated more territory since the beginning of autumn than Russian forces have managed to capture, and that the same balance held in other parts of 2025. He said he had just received a report from Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi.

Zelenskyy named seven places he said remain under Ukrainian control: Dobropillia, Kostiantynivka, Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka, Orikhiv, Novopavlivka, Novoandriivka and Velykomykhailivka. He described the situation in Dobropillia as difficult but said Ukrainian forces are repelling Russian storm and infiltration attempts there, and said Ukrainian forces are defending areas near Kramatorsk.

He also pushed back on claims made two days earlier by Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, saying Russian forces are being engaged about 20 km from Zaporizhzhia rather than the 5 km Gerasimov asserted. Zelenskyy cited operations by the Airborne Assault Forces (DShV) and the Third Army Corps as examples of Ukraine's active defence.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrainian outlets centre Zelenskyy's positive framing of autumn territorial gains and frame the situation as difficult but managed. They credit specific units by name — the 128th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade, the 82nd Separate Airborne Assault Brigade, the 59th and 414th Separate Unmanned Systems brigades, and the Third Army Corps — for results on the Zaporizhzhia, Oleksandrivsk, Donetsk and Pokrovsk directions. Russian claims about Malokaterynivka, Dobropillia and Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka are presented as false, with the Center for Countering Disinformation and operational-grouping spokespersons asserting those settlements remain under Ukrainian control and pointing to distance figures of 20 km and 25 km from Zaporizhzhia that contradict the Russian 5 km figure.

How international sources describe it

The only non-Ukrainian source in the synthesis is an English-language report from Azerbaijan's APA agency, which frames the story as Zelenskyy refuting specific Russian claims — the alleged capture of Dobropillia and the claimed advance toward Zaporizhzhia — and restates both the Russian and Ukrainian positions without offering independent verification of either.

Where reporting differs

Three concrete disagreements are recorded between Russian and Ukrainian accounts.

First, Gerasimov and Putin claim the full capture of Dobropillia and Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka, south of Kramatorsk; Zelenskyy and the Center for Countering Disinformation state they remain under Ukrainian control.

Second, on the distance of Russian forces from Zaporizhzhia: Gerasimov says 5 km; Zelenskyy says about 20 km; the Center for Countering Disinformation and the "South" operational grouping say the southern outskirts of Zaporizhzhia are approximately 25 km from the line of combat contact.

Third, Gerasimov claims Russian forces have captured Malokaterynivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast; Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, the "South" operational grouping, and soldiers of the 128th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade — who recorded a video from inside the settlement — say it remains under Ukrainian control.

Background

On October 16, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov met with Vladimir Putin and reported rapid Russian advances, including claims of being 5 km from Zaporizhzhia and of having captured Dobropillia and Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka south of Kramatorsk. Zelenskyy delivered his counter-claims in an evening address on October 18, after receiving a report from Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Mykhailo Drapatyi. Separately, the Third Army Corps reportedly completed the fourth stage of an operation codenamed "Vivaldi" on the Lyman direction, said to have liberated about 101 square kilometres including Kolodiazi, Zelena Dolyna and Lypove. The "South" operational grouping also reported that the Russian command has set a deadline for its troops to capture Tavriiske, Orikhiv and Preobrazhenka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast by the end of October.