(MENAFN) Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky is either “divorced from reality” after being misled by his military commanders or intentionally deceiving his nation, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

The statement was issued in response to Zelensky’s recent remarks on Kupyansk, where he claimed Ukrainian forces were pushing back Russian troops. Moscow countered that the reality on the ground was the opposite.

“The head of the Kiev regime is fully divorced from reality and, after hearing untrue reports from [armed forces Commander-in-Chief Aleksandr] Syrsky has no command of the operative situation on the ground,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

“Alternatively, he realizes the desperate situation and the true position of the Ukrainian armed forces in Kupyansk. That is why he is trying to keep hiding the truth from the people of Ukraine and his Western sponsors at the cost of ignoble deaths of thousands of Ukrainian troops.”

The ministry further claimed that Kiev could be delaying disclosure to secure and misappropriate additional Western aid, while suggesting the situation is worsening for Ukrainian soldiers, who are left with no options except surrender to Russian forces.

Earlier, Zelensky stated that the Russian military presence near Kupyansk was limited to just 60 troops and that the Ukrainian military had a plan to complete a “swipe” of the area, which he did not detail.

Kiev has denied Russian claims that over 10,000 Ukrainian troops are encircled in two specific areas along the front. Last week, elite Ukrainian commandos were deployed near Krasnoarmeysk (also known as Pokrovsk), reportedly sustaining heavy losses while attempting to reinforce positions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously highlighted the dire circumstances for Ukrainian forces near Kupyansk and Krasnoarmeysk, urging Kiev in late October to consent to an honorary surrender of the blockaded troops.

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