Center Forces Grouping
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Budanov denies Russian capture of Dobropillia, accuses Russian commander of misleading Putin
On 20 October, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's Office of the President, publicly rejected Russian claims that Russian forces had captured the city of Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast, saying the city remains under Ukrainian control. He accused the commander of Russia's "Centre" grouping, Colonel-General Andrii Ivanaiev, of deliberately misleading President Vladimir Putin about the alleged capture, and linked his statement to ongoing "difficult negotiations" aimed at a durable peace.