Russians are raising flags to give the appearance of control over territories, says Apostol

Russian military forces use the raising of flags as a way to create the appearance of control over certain territories. However, the appearance of a Russian flag at a position does not necessarily indicate that it has actually been captured and held.

According to the commander, after the Ukrainian side released information about the results of combat operations, Russian troops attempted to verify reports regarding control over specific territories.

In particular, Oleg Apostol described instances where Russian servicemen were specifically sent to positions to raise flags. Such actions were intended to demonstrate the alleged presence and control of Russian units in those areas.

The commander of the Airborne Forces linked this practice, in particular, to the problem of unreliable reports within the Russian military chain of command.

He noted that lower-level commanders may mislead higher command regarding the actual situation on the battlefield. As a result, Russian leadership receives distorted information about the situation in certain sectors.

Therefore, the mere raising of the Russian flag does not in itself confirm that the occupiers have actually captured the territory and are capable of holding it.

This was reported by Oleg Apostol, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Airborne Assault Troops, during a meeting with journalists.

As a reminder, the most intense combat operations on the Sumy sector of the front are currently taking place in the so-called “small sky.” Valery Povarov, commander of the 425th Separate “Ochi” Unmanned Systems Battalion, spoke about this during the “Yedyni Novyny” telethon.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces struck Russian ammunition depots and drone storage facilities, a command post in Crimea, and facilities belonging to the Rubicon unit.

As a reminder, on October 21 and overnight into October 22, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out successful strikes on several key military targets of the Russian occupiers. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military detected and destroyed a Russian “Buk-M1” anti-aircraft missile system, which the occupiers were using to counter Ukrainian aviation.