Russia Fabricates Dobropillia Encirclement to Strengthen Case for Ukraine Capitulation at UN

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed on September 22 that its Central Grouping of Forces had encircled Dobropillya in Donetsk Oblast and was advancing toward Oleksandrivka northwest of the city, publishing no map or supporting evidence 12. The Institute for the Study of War said it found no evidence corroborating the claim and assessed it as incompatible with recent Ukrainian reporting 34. Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets stated on September 20 that Ukrainian forces held positions south and northeast of Dobropillya, and the chief of staff of a Ukrainian artillery reconnaissance battalion said on September 22 that Russian forces had made no major advances in the area, citing heavy Russian losses and a gap between Russian plans and battlefield conditions, though assault groups continued trying to break through toward the city 13. ISW noted the claim followed Ukrainian gains north of Lyman under Kyiv's Vivaldi operation and coincided with the 81st UN General Assembly session, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US President Donald Trump on September 22, and assessed it as part of a broader Kremlin pattern of falsely claiming encirclements across multiple front sectors to portray Ukrainian defenses as collapsing 24.