Kremlin-aligned media outlets deleted reports and posts claiming Russian control of Myrnohrad after Russia’s Defense Ministry ordered federal agencies to retract them.
Major Russian state agencies - RIA Novosti, RBC and TASS - annulled reports that the Russian military had allegedly established “full control” over the southern part of Myrnohrad (which Russians refer to by its Soviet-era name, Dimitrov). The removals came at the Defense Ministry’s request, something the outlets explicitly noted in official explanations, ASTRA reported.
RIA Novosti, in particular, used a terse wording: a story headlined about a report from Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov “is annulled at the request of the Defense Ministry.” The items were quickly pulled from the wires and replaced with deletion notices.
The episode drew attention because the Defense Ministry had previously announced the city’s “liberation.” On December 31, 2025, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov publicly congratulated units on the full capture of Myrnohrad, a message widely amplified by pro-Kremlin media.
Pro-war Russian Telegram channels said the formal trigger for the takedowns was the use of outdated video. Posts presented as current included footage of Gerasimov visiting the “Center” grouping in December 2025.
Even so, the Defense Ministry’s swift intervention and the mass retractions underscored a recurring issue in Russia’s media ecosystem: declarations of “full control” often prove short-lived even within state-aligned outlets, social media users noted.
