JFO mocked Putin’s claim that AFU had been "surrounded" in Stary Oskol: "We are merely working on advancing towards this city in Belgorod region". MAP
The Joint Forces Operation has denied Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s claim that Ukrainian Armed Forces troops have been surrounded in Stary Oskol.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing the Joint Forces Operation’s press centre.
What does the Joint Forces Operation say?
"Unfortunately, as things stand, we are only working on advancing towards this city, which, as is well known, is located in the north-east of the Belgorod Oblast of the Russian Federation. However, we are convinced that the Russian leader is better aware of his troops’ combat capability than we are, so we suggest regarding the fighting for Stary Oskol as a publicity preview on his part," the statement reads.
What did the Russian dictator say?
On 28 June, Putin claimed that Ukrainian troops were allegedly "almost surrounded" in the "Stary Oskol" area.
"On the left bank of the Stary Oskol River, we have effectively blocked a heterogeneous enemy force numbering around 5,000 personnel… There are approximately two kilometres remaining before complete encirclement."
It should be noted that Stary Oskol is a city in the Belgorod Oblast of the Russian Federation, approximately 100 km from the Ukrainian border, and not a river. Putin presumably meant the Oskil River, which flows through the Kharkiv Oblast of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
