Gerasimov Deceived Putin
1- 21.10.2026, 11:26
The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation concealed a map showing the occupiers' escape route.
Russian Z-channels are reporting that the Russian Federation’s military situation is deteriorating on sections of the front, which the command recently presented to Putin as sites of a successful offensive. Fighting continues in settlements declared to have been captured; Ukrainian forces are regaining ground; and AI-generated videos featuring flags are being circulated as “proof” of Russian “victories.” In some sectors of the front, such as near Lyman, the Russian army has completely fled its positions, writes “Dialog”.
On Friday, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov reported to Putin on the capture of Novopavlovka, Novoandreevka, and Dobropillya. He also stated that Russian advance units are five kilometers from the southern outskirts of Zaporizhzhia. Following the briefing, Putin announced an offensive across the entire front line and a significant acceleration of its pace.
However, Russian military bloggers describe a different situation. They estimate the distance to Zaporizhzhia to be at least 23 kilometers. On “Rybary’s” map, Novopavlovka remains under Ukrainian control, and near Novoandreevka and Novodanilovka, the channel notes counterattacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Near Orekhov, “Rybary” acknowledges that the situation for Russian forces is “gradually deteriorating.” Ukrainian forces have cut off one of the routes into the city from the direction of Malaya Tokmachka. “The enemy has managed to push back Russian forces within the city limits,” the report states.

Another problem has arisen with the claims about the capture of Dobropillya: Russian monitoring projects have detected signs of CGI in videos intended to confirm control over the city. In one of them, according to the “Slivochny Kapriz” project, a Russian flag is held by “a man with a thumb instead of a head.” Other Z-channels are also analyzing the fake videos from Dobropillya and explicitly state that fighting for the city continues. In their assessment, it is too early to speak of its capture, even though Gerasimov has already reported this to Putin.