On October 18, 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after hearing a report from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mykhailo Drapatyi, publicly outlined what he called the real state of affairs at the front. In his address, the head of state stated that the Defense Forces of Ukraine fully control Dobropillia, Kostiantynivka, Oleksievo-Druzhkivka, Orikhiv, Novopavlivka, Novoandriivka, and Velykomykhailivka, and are also defending areas near Kramatorsk. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Zelenskyy's Telegram post.
Response to Gerasimov's Report
The president's speech essentially served as a response to the statements made by Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov in his report to Russian leader Vladimir Putin. According to Zelenskyy, these reports present a picture that does not correspond to reality. "We are destroying Russians 20 kilometers from Zaporizhzhia, not five, as someone there in Russia is fantasizing to Putin," the Ukrainian president stated, directly pointing out the discrepancy between the data of the Russian General Staff and the situation on the contact line.
Frontline: 20 Kilometers, Not Five
Zelenskyy separately focused on the situation in Dobropillia. According to him, the Defense Forces are not only repelling assaults but also preventing Russian infiltrations in this area. The head of state acknowledged that the overall situation is difficult, but the defenders are holding their positions. He also noted that Ukrainian positions are "standing firm" in other areas of the Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Active Defense and Territorial Balance
Commenting on the course of hostilities, Zelenskyy mentioned the results of operations by the Air Assault Forces and the 3rd Army Corps, which he called elements of "active defense." He claimed that the current year's trend continues: since the beginning of autumn, Ukrainian warriors have liberated more territory than Russian troops managed to capture, and a similar picture, according to him, was observed in other periods of the year.
Reaction in Russia and Denial by the General Staff of Ukraine
To recap, on October 18, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine officially denied Gerasimov's claims about the advance of Russian troops in the Donetsk region and Zaporizhzhia. In addition, as noted in the report, Russian bloggers publicly criticized the head of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces following his reports to Putin, which further highlighted the internal resonance surrounding the data presented in them.
