'It's a disgrace!': Russian bloggers mock Gerasimov's claims of advances in Donbas

Gerasimov came under a wave of criticism after reporting to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russian forces had "fully captured" the city of Dobropillia and several other settlements in Ukraine's Donetsk region.

The Russian military chief claimed that the city, an important logistics hub for Ukraine's defense, had been "liberated" by troops from Russia's Center Group.

Moreover, he assured the Kremlin leader that Russian forces were conducting search operations to identify and eliminate individual Ukrainian service members hiding in building basements.

The Russian president immediately called this a "significant event" that opened the way to the borders of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.

The well-known Russian blogger Voyennyy Osvedomitel (Military Informant) reacted sarcastically to Gerasimov's and Putin's high-profile claims.

"Gerasimov reported the liberation of Dobropillia, Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka, and Serhiivka, as well as completing the destruction of a 2,000-strong Ukrainian Armed Forces group surrounded in the Kharkiv region. There's simply no point in taking any of this apart," he wrote.

In addition, the pro-war Russian channel shared a clip from a Russian Defense Ministry video that was supposed to prove Russian control of the city and claimed it had been generated using neural networks. They cited the unrealistic movements of a soldier carrying a Russian flag as evidence.

"They've sold Pipa [Putin - ed.] another fake Sviatohirsk and Kupiansk. It's a disgrace!" another pro-war Russian blogger, Alex Parker Returns, fumed.

As previously reported, on October 18, Ukraine's General Staff dismissed Gerasimov's claims about Russian advances in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions as fabrications.

The media also reported that Putin had publicly ordered the continuation of massive strikes against Ukraine.