False reporting by Russian officers leaves assault groups trapped under Ukrainian fire – Atesh

The pro-Ukrainian Atesh partisan movement says Russian commanders have left their own soldiers exposed to heavy losses in Kupiansk after falsely reporting battlefield gains to higher headquarters.

In a statement, Atesh cited an agent inside Russia’s 122nd Motorized Rifle Regiment, who described a critical situation on the Kupiansk axis in Kharkiv Oblast caused by false reports from regimental command.

According to the group, the regiment’s command prematurely reported that several positions inside the city and surrounding areas had been taken under control. These areas were marked as secured rear zones in official maps and reports, even though intense fighting is still ongoing there.

Assault units cut off, denied artillery support

As a result, Russian assault units advancing in urban areas have come under Ukrainian fire and found themselves cut off. The fighters have reportedly requested artillery support to suppress Ukrainian machine-gun and sniper positions, but have received none.

Atesh said artillery units of the 122nd Regiment are refusing to fire on those coordinates, citing official maps that classify the area as already occupied by Russian forces. Under these reports, shelling the sector would be considered striking their own troops.

False reporting contributing to battlefield losses

An Atesh agent serving in an artillery unit said this has effectively left frontline infantry without cover, allowing Ukrainian forces to destroy Russian assault groups in built-up areas.

Atesh described the situation as an example of how false reporting by Russian commanders is contributing to losses on the battlefield. 

Partisan network claims informants in Russian units

Atesh is a clandestine partisan network operating inside Russian and Russian-occupied territory. The group claims to have informants within Russian military units and has previously reported on operational mistakes, supply issues, and morale problems among occupying forces.

Atesh also regularly claims sabotage operations inside Russian and occupied territory, focusing on infrastructure tied to Moscow’s military operations. The group says its goal is to disrupt logistics, fuel supplies, and equipment movement to slow Russia’s war effort.

Russia's continued offensive in Kupiansk

Kupiansk, a key railway and highway hub in Kharkiv Oblast, has been a Russian objective since Ukrainian forces liberated it in 2022. Late last year, Russian troops managed to push into parts of the city, seizing several neighborhoods. But Ukrainian defenders quickly countered, encircling the invaders and cutting off their access.

Russia has now set a new deadline to seize the city by February 2026, but repeated offensives continue to collapse under Ukrainian resistance. 

Russian milbloggers have publicly accused their own military command of fabricating gains and misleading senior leadership about the situation on the ground - a pattern that mirrors the false reporting described by Atesh.