The Ukrainian Armed Forces have clearly refuted the false claim made by the head of the Russian General Staff regarding the capture of Malokaterynivka
The Ukrainian military released a video, refuting a statement by Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, regarding the alleged capture of the village of Malokaterynivka in the Zaporizhzhia region and the advance of Russian forces to within five kilometers of Zaporizhzhia.
Maksym Kravchuk, spokesperson for the “South” Military Group, confirmed that Malokaterynivka remains under the full control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, and that the actual distance from the front line to the southern outskirts of the regional capital is approximately 25 kilometers.
⭕️The Information Counteraction Center reports: The statement by Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, regarding the alleged capture of Malokaterynivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and the presence of Russian troops 5 kilometers from Zaporizhzhia is not true. Maksym Kravchuk, spokesperson for the “South” Military Group, told the Center that the village remains under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. To confirm this, Ukrainian soldiers from the 128th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade recorded a video directly from Malokaterynivka. At the same time, the distance from the front line to the southern outskirts of Zaporizhzhia is about 25 kilometers. “If Gerasimov lies even about things that are easy to verify, then how much credibility do all the other statements by the Russian Ministry of Defense about the ‘capture’ of Ukrainian settlements deserve? Just more fairy tales for Putin, not the real picture on the front lines,” said Maksym Kravchuk. ❗️ Russian propaganda is once again spreading false claims about the alleged capture of Ukrainian settlements, trying to pass off wishful thinking as reality.
— GLAVKOM (@GLAVCOM_UA) October 18, 2026
To confirm Ukrainian control, soldiers from the 128th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade recorded a video message directly from the village, once again exposing the fakes spread by Russian propaganda.
Source: Center for Countering Disinformation.
Several Russian military bloggers have publicly accused Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, of lying about the advance of Russian troops in Donbas. The statements by the military leadership have drawn criticism even among supporters of the war against Ukraine.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claims that the Russian army is allegedly just five kilometers away from Zaporizhzhia.
