A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged journalists not to trust an offer from Russian President Vladimir Putin to observe the situation in eastern Ukraine via a safe corridor.
Speaking from the Central Military Clinical Hospital in Moscow on Wednesday, Putin claimed that Russia would halt fighting for several hours in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad area of the Donetsk region and in Kupyansk of the Kharkiv region so that both Ukrainian and foreign journalists could visit.
He said that Russia would “transport them to specific locations” so that they could “see what is happening, talk to Ukrainian servicemen, and leave” in what he suggested was an attempt to substantiate contested claims that Russian troops had encircled Ukrainian forces in both locations.
Ukrainian officials have said that such claims of Kupyansk being surrounded are “fabrications and fantasies,” while a spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern forces told the Associated Press that the situation in Pokrovsk is “hard but under control.”
On Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi cautioned journalists not to trust Putin’s offer of safe passage, emphasizing that he “has never kept any of his ceasefire pledges.”
“Frankly, I do not recommend that any reporters trust any of Putin’s proposals for “corridors” in the warzone,” Tykhyi wrote on X.
“I saw firsthand how such proposals play out – on August 29, 2014, in Ilovaisk,” he continued, in reference to the date when Ukrainian servicemen were offered a “green corridor” to withdraw from encirclement in Ilovaisk but died in their hundreds when Russian troops opened fire as they evacuated.
Tykhyi was present at the massacre while filming a documentary with a team of other journalists.
“Putin’s only goal is to prolong the war,” Tykhyi continued in his statement on Thursday. “And he has never kept any of his ceasefire pledges. Do not assist him in justifying his crimes through Russian provocations against journalists.”
Tykhyi also reminded media that visits to Russian-occupied territory without the permission of Ukraine are against the law and will carry “long-term reputational and legal consequences.”
“We are watching closely,” he warned.
Kyiv Post reported on Wednesday that Russian infantry had entered Pokrovsk in strength, triggering street battles and threatening to surround Ukrainian forces.
The independent Ukrainian military watch group DeepState confirmed general Russian control of Pokrovsk’s southern districts, while Ukrainian forces retain partial control of the city’s central and northern regions.
“The situation in Pokrovsk is on the verge of critical and continues to deteriorate to the point that it may be too late to fix everything,” the platform said.
The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that 11,000 Russian troops are concentrated around Pokrovsk in an attempt to surround the city.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said late on Wednesday: “Putin continued to claim on October 29 that Russian forces have encircled Ukrainian forces in Kupyansk and Pokrovsk… ISW does not assess that Russian forces have encircled either town at this time.”
“Putin is likely trying to use micro-ceasefire proposals to show that Russia is interested in a ceasefire, particularly as Russia has publicly rejected US President Donald Trump’s proposed ceasefire on the current frontline,” the Institute continued.”
“Putin’s proposed ceasefire would be a staged media opportunity to portray the situation in a way that benefits Russia. He announced the offer in a staged fashion to call attention to his exaggerated claims about Russian progress in Pokrovsk.”
Russian advances are “unlikely to cause an immediate collapse of the Ukrainian pocket in the Pokrovsk direction,” the Institute added.