Kremlin announces Rizdvianka village takeover in Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian military refutes
Photo: Ukraine's Defense Forces refute fake claim about capture of Rizdvianka village in Zaporizhzhia region (Getty Images)
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claims that occupying forces allegedly captured the village of Rizdvianka in the Zaporizhzhia region. However, this information is not true — the settlement remains under the control of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces, said in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.
Read also: Russia claims to have 'captured' Hlushkivka in Kharkiv region: What is actually happening
According to him, over the past two weeks, Russians have repeatedly claimed they are taking control of settlements in the Huliaipole direction, but this does not correspond to reality.
Yesterday, they announced the capture of Rizdvianka, located at least 20 kilometers west of the line of contact.
Closer to the front line are settlements such as Prydorozhne, Dobropillia, Ternuvate, and Kosivtseve, and only further west lies Rizdvianka.
Screenshot (Deepstate map)
"That settlement is deep within our defensive lines. Fighting is currently ongoing several kilometers east of Dobropillia. Ukraine’s Defense Forces are conducting fairly successful counteroffensive actions there," Voloshyn noted.
He added that, according to Ukrainian intelligence and intercepted communications, the enemy had planned to deploy a small infiltration group in the areas of Kosivtseve, Prydorozhne, and Rizdvianka. The group was detected and destroyed.
Despite this, Russian propaganda continues to claim the capture of Ukrainian territories.
A week ago, Russians claimed control over Kosivtseve — the Armed Forces denied it. Later, they said they had captured Prydorozhne — that was also refuted.
Recently, the Russian troops claimed to have established control over Ternuvate — again denied. Now Russia’s Defense Ministry is spreading fake reports about Rizdvianka.
"All of this is a complete Russian fake. The enemy cannot enter there. But Russia’s Defense Ministry is spreading this fake without even checking the map to see where the settlement actually is. They even mistranslated it in their own reports, calling it something like Rozhdestvenskoye instead of Rizdvianka," the spokesperson added.
He emphasized that this is part of Russia’s information warfare campaign, aimed at strengthening its position in negotiations and creating the illusion of battlefield success.
Russia’s claims about capturing Ukrainian territories
Earlier, Russia claimed it had captured Hlushkivka in the Kharkiv region. Ukraine’s Defense Forces denied this information.
Russian propaganda outlets also spread a fake claim about the alleged capture of the settlement of Ternuvate in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The Southern Defense Forces and the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council officially refuted the claim, noting that the settlement is located about 15 kilometers from the front line.
In reality, enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups attempted to infiltrate the settlement but were quickly detected and neutralized by Ukrainian defenders: some were eliminated, and the rest were captured.
The Center for Countering Disinformation said the purpose of the false claim was to create the illusion of a “successful offensive” and to demoralize Ukrainian society.
