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Gerasimov Touts Gains to Putin While Ukrainian Troops Stall Russian Advances Near Sumy and Pokrovsk
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Russia’s top general has claimed Moscow’s forces are pushing forward across nearly every sector of the front in Ukraine, but Kyiv insists its defenders are holding and in some areas even clawing back ground. The contradictory reports underscore the fog of war surrounding the grinding battles in eastern Ukraine, Reuters reported on September 18.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov toured front-line positions and declared that Russian troops were “advancing in practically all directions.”
He pointed to heavy fighting near Pokrovsk in Donetsk region—known in Soviet times as Krasnoarmiisk—as Ukrainian forces attempt “unsuccessfully” to halt the offensive.
“The Ukrainian military has deployed the best-trained and most capable fighting units, taking them from other areas. And that facilitates the advance of our troops in other sectors,” Gerasimov was quoted as saying.
He also mentioned Russian operations pressing westward into Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, and further north toward Kupiansk and Yampil.
Ukraine, however, has painted a different picture. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with Sky News, said Russia’s last three assaults had “failed” to achieve meaningful results.
“On the whole, I am truly pleased that the last three Russian offensive drives have failed, though they are planning two more serious offensives,” Zelenskyy said. “In my view, this is an important signal.”
Ukrainian commanders reported their troops repelled advances near Pokrovsk and inflicted losses on Russian forces.
Open-source analysts at the military mapping blog DeepState noted localized Ukrainian defensive successes in nearby areas. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian unit operating near Kupiansk claimed an attempted Russian push there ended with several enemy soldiers captured.
Earlier, reports emerged that Ukraine’s Armed Forces regained 58 square kilometers of territory and liberated several settlements from Russian occupation.
