Russian military correspondent Evgeny Poddubny has released a document that, he says, shows the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces ordered the evacuation of its units from several settlements in Donbass as far back as November of last year.

According to Poddubny, the document was found by Russian reconnaissance in the town of Dimitrov (known in Ukrainian as Mirnograd). He notes that the text is drawn up as an instruction from a Ukrainian headquarters. The order, as he presents it, demands that starting from 20 November 2025 Ukrainian personnel and equipment be withdrawn from the areas of Pokrovsk, Dimitrov (Mirnograd), Rog and Ignatovka to the area of Dobropolye, with written confirmation of execution to be submitted to the operational command headquarters by 26 November 2025.

In his Telegram channel, Poddubny describes this paper as a plan for a retreat and claims it points to a deliberate attempt by the Kiev authorities to mislead the international community about the real situation on the front line. At the same time, he allows for the possibility that the document might be a fake, suggesting that in that case there could be even more scenarios in play, including potential substitution of orders addressed to specific units and formations.

At the end of December, President of Russia Vladimir Putin received a report on the liberation of Dimitrov in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Defence Minister Andrei Belousov congratulated the command and personnel of the 5th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, as well as the 1487th and 1435th motor rifle regiments, on taking control of the town.