Russia seeks to distract from Ukraine’s gains: ISW rejects claim 1,500 troops encircled in Kharkiv

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has rejected claims by Russia that around 1,500 Ukrainian troops were encircled in Kharkiv Oblast near the Velykyi Burluk and Vovchansk sectors on September 24. Both Russia's Defense Ministry and Russian military bloggers have been spreading unsubstantiated claims about Ukrainian troops being encircled in multiple areas along the front.

ISW suggests this could be part of a Kremlin information campaign to make it seem like Ukrainian defenses are crumbling. On September 23, Russia's Defense Ministry declared that Russian forces had taken Krasnyi Yar and Potykhonove northeast of Kharkiv, while Russian military bloggers claimed Ukrainian troops were encircled near Riznykove and Rublene, even going as far as to say about 1,500 Ukrainian troops were caught in a 460 square kilometer encirclement.

However, ISW found no evidence supporting these Russian claims in northern Kharkiv Oblast or near Dobropillia. Analysts also noted that the Ukrainian military continues to debunk these assertions, stating that the uptick in Russian propaganda about alleged encirclements might be an attempt to distract attention from recent Ukrainian advances in key sectors of the front.

On September 3, Ukraine's 16th Army Corps refuted Russian propaganda claims that several settlements had been taken and that Russian forces were "closing the Vovchansk pocket," asserting that they had not lost positions in their area over the past six months and were still successfully countering Russian advances. Hart Brigade press officer Senior Lt. Oleksandr Danylenko reported back on August 21 that small groups of Russian infantry in northern Kharkiv Oblast were attempting to locate weak spots in Ukrainian defenses and cross the border in an effort to infiltrate Vovchansk from the north.