Russia is withdrawing from its positions in the Lyman area, despite Putin's statements, according to the ISW
Russian military bloggers have reported a deterioration in the Russian Federation’s military situation in the Lyman sector and acknowledged that the occupying forces were forced to abandon certain forward positions.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, Russian military bloggers have recently been increasingly acknowledging the Ukrainian military’s successful counterattacks near Lyman.
At the same time, they have begun to openly criticize the Russian military command for spreading false information about the situation on the front lines.
One Russian blogger claimed that Ukrainian forces have been conducting counterattacks near Lyman for several months now. Meanwhile, official reports from the Russian command and maps from other military bloggers had long painted a picture that was significantly more optimistic for Russia.
Recently, calls have been heard in the Russian information space to ban so-called “good news”—false or overly optimistic reports on the course of hostilities.
Russian military bloggers are increasingly voicing dissatisfaction with officials’ statements about the Russian army’s allegedly successful advance, particularly in the Lyman sector.
They have drawn particular attention to Svyatogorsk, located northwest of Lyman. Ukrainian forces recently demonstrated that they control the city.
However, as analysts note, this happened only a few days after Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin announced that Russian troops had captured Svyatogorsk.
Russian military bloggers also claim that inaccurate information about the situation on the front lines has direct operational consequences.
Specifically:
- Russian units may not receive fire support at positions they previously claimed to have captured;
- troops in neighboring sectors plan their actions based on an incorrect assessment of the situation;
- the command makes decisions based on distorted data about the actual front line.
Consequently, even pro-Russian pro-war bloggers are increasingly drawing attention to the disconnect between the Kremlin’s official statements and the actual situation on the battlefield, particularly in the Lyman sector.
This is evidenced by a report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Over the past 24 hours, 277 combat engagements were recorded on the front lines in Ukraine. Russian troops were most active in the Pokrovsk sector, where Ukrainian defenders repelled 44 enemy attacks.
As of the morning of September 10, 2026, the Russian army’s total personnel losses since the start of the full-scale invasion amount to approximately 1,502,390 soldiers. In the past 24 hours alone, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russia lost another 1,520 servicemen.
The previous day, 221 combat engagements were recorded along the front lines. The enemy launched the most attacks in the Pokrovsk direction, where the Defense Forces repelled 21 assaults, and Russian troops lost more than 60 occupiers.
Defense Forces struck a Russian boat in Sevastopol.
As a reminder, fires broke out at industrial facilities in the Kyiv region due to an attack by the Russian Federation.
Russia also launched a massive attack on Kyiv, killing and wounding civilians.
Later, rescue workers showed the aftermath of the strikes on Kyiv.
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