Ukraine denies information about forces encircled near Kurakhove

Khortytsia unit press service reported the information.

Citing the DeepState portal, media reports indicate that certain units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces are in an operational cordon near the settlements of Uspenivka and Trudove.

“This information is not true. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has decided to withdraw the units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces from the area in order to avoid encirclement,” the military emphasized.

The press service of the Khortytsia operational-strategic troop grouping noted that the military units, which had been engaged in heavy defensive battles with superior Russian forces for a long time, had made the necessary maneuvers to avoid encirclement and continue to perform operational tasks at the Kurakhove-Kostiantynopolske line.

“The dissemination of unverified and inaccurate information harms the performance of tasks by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, is actively disseminated by the information resources of the aggressor country and is fully consistent with the enemy's narratives,” the statement said.

• On December 19, 191 clashes occurred on the Russian-Ukrainian front. Ukrainian defenders repelled 60 Russian attacks in the Kursk region and 32 in the Pokrovsk sector.