Ukraine says Russia's claimed territorial advances are 'an illusion'

Ukraine on Saturday rejected ​Russia's claim to have captured more than ​1,800 square km (695 square miles) of ‌territory ​and nearly 100 settlements, including the eastern town of Dobropillia, since September 1.

On Friday, the chief of Russia's General Staff, ‌Valery Gerasimov, told President Vladimir Putin that Russian forces had captured 92 Ukrainian settlements and made significant territorial gains since the start of last month. Ukraine's General Staff spokesman Andriy Kovaliov dismissed the claims ‌as false.

"In fact, through their active operations, the Ukrainian Defence Forces have liberated more ‌territory since the beginning of autumn than the enemy has managed to capture," he said in an emailed statement. "The Russian military leadership continues to create an illusion of major victories for its political leadership and domestic audience," ⁠he ​said.

Russia's advances along the ⁠front line have slowed this year but its forces have been bearing down on the so-called "fortress belt" cities of ⁠Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the capture of which would bring Russia closer to its goal of seizing ​the entire industrialised Donetsk region. Kovaliov also rejected Gerasimov's claims that Russian troops had reached the ⁠outskirts of Kramatorsk and were advancing in the suburbs of Sloviansk.

He said Dobropillia, southwest of the two cities, ⁠remained under ​Ukrainian control despite sustained Russian attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield claims.

With many front lines largely static across a deadly "kill zone", both sides have intensified their air ⁠campaigns. Russia fired hundreds of ballistic missiles over the summer and early autumn and is widely ⁠expected to target ⁠critical infrastructure including heating and power sites into the winter.

Ukraine, which has a far smaller missile arsenal, has launched hundreds of long-range drone attacks ‌on Russian refineries, ‌ships and warehouses.