russia’s defense ministry reported the capture of a nonexistent village
▫️ russian propaganda outlets are actively spreading a statement by russia’s defense ministry claiming that russian forces captured the village of Shcherbakivka in the Kharkiv region.
This is another typical example of russian disinformation aimed at creating the illusion of a continuous successful advance by russian forces along all fronts.
In reality, the village of Shcherbakivka was dissolved back in 1997 because there were no residents left there at the time. As of 2026, no such settlement exists in Ukraine.
▫️ russia’s general staff and defense ministry have repeatedly officially reported the capture of Ukrainian settlements that were not actually under russian control. For example, russian chief of the general staff valery gerasimov has repeatedly claimed the complete capture of Kupiansk and Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, which russian forces do not control.
