In Makariv, reality doesn’t match the propaganda

Media around the world reported the news as the latest indication that Ukrainian forces were waging skillful counterattacks and defeating the Russians in vital locations.

But as a team of Washington Post journalists passed through the checkpoint on Wednesday, Ukrainian soldiers ordered them to quickly leave the town, warning of incoming Russian rockets or artillery. Minutes later, reporters heard the sound of shells falling. Black plumes of smoke rose over the houses. Soon more blasts followed.

Makariv remains a contested front line.

“The military doesn’t control all of Makariv, only partially,” said Mayor Vadim Tokar, standing on the town’s outskirts shortly after the shells landed. “It’s 100 percent no-go for civilians to return.”

What happened here is emblematic of the two different yet intertwined wars unfolding in Ukraine, one taking place on the battlefield, the other in the realm of propaganda to shape public perceptions and bolster morale and support. Russia has been by far the more aggressive source of wildly inaccurate information — starting with Vladimir Putin’s false and historically inaccurate justifications for the invasion. But, as the Makariv situation illustrates, Ukrainian officials have also sometimes spread overly rosy information about the war.

A visit to Makariv also opens a window into how much the fog of war is making solid information hard to come by. Journalists are increasingly finding it difficult to reach areas outside the capital to independently verify facts, because of bombardments, rapidly shifting front lines and Russian military positions — even as Russia’s advance remains largely stalled.

On Monday, Andriy Nebytov, the chief of police for the Kyiv region, visited Makariv and in a Facebook post accurately described the situation there. “The city is under constant shelling of enemy artillery. Shattered roofs and windows burned by the flames … There are no people on the streets. Every second house is damaged or destroyed.”

On Tuesday morning, Nebytov posted a video of his visit, including inspirational battlefield music, and images of a Ukrainian flag that had been downed by Russian shelling but was once again defiantly draped over a municipal building.

By Tuesday evening, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry had seized on that image and declared that Makariv had been liberated. “Thanks to the heroic actions of our defenders, the state flag of Ukraine was raised over the city of Makarov, the enemy was driven back,” the ministry said in a statement.

Senior government officials have continued to declare that Makariv is no longer occupied by Russians. “From official sources, we received information that a small city, Makariv, and almost all of Irpin are already in the control of Ukrainian soldiers,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told reporters Wednesday.

Tokar, the mayor, said the reality on the ground was different. As of Wednesday, he said, Russian forces were still in control of roughly 15 percent of the town, an area they have held for nearly three weeks with little shifting of the…