In the journalist’s opinion, the OSTG "Khortytsia" has called into question the reliability of the DeepState map. A proper and civilized solution to the situation would be a meeting of both sides.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine deny the existence of a conflict with DeepState and any attempts to limit the channel’s work. This was emphasized by Ukrainian journalist and military correspondent Yuriy Butusov.
"I contacted a source in the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and unofficially received a clear assurance that the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not involved in the situation regarding the statement of the OSTG "Khortytsia", and there are no actions to pressure DeepState. According to the interlocutor, the OSTG "Khortytsia" should invite the DeepState team for a meeting to coordinate the coverage of the situation at the front," he said.
Yuriy Butusov noted that such a meeting would be a sign of a proper and civilized resolution of this situation, which would be beneficial for both sides. According to him, DeepState analysts often predict the situation more accurately than the OSTG, and such dialogue would be beneficial.
Overall, the military correspondent regarding the conflict with DeepState and reports of encirclement in Makarivka noted that the encirclement of troops in the mentioned area is absent. In his opinion, the public conflict was caused by an incorrect phrase in the statement of the OSTG "Khortytsia" in response to publications by some bloggers.
The journalist noted that DeepState is a project of an online combat map. It is important for objectively informing servicemen and the public about the real situation at the front. DeepState recently displayed on the map that the village of Makarivka in Donetsk region is almost completely surrounded, while statements and conclusions from their side were absent.
Meanwhile, the OSTG "Khortytsia" made a statement that the information about the encirclement of the units of the Ukrainian Defence Forces in the settlement of Makarivka in the Vremivka direction is not true. Yuriy Butusov added that the OSTG’s statement was a reaction to social media publications about the encirclement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine units in the village of Makarivka, Donetsk region, which were made by other bloggers based on the analysis of the DeepState map. The situation was also reacted to by the people’s deputy Maryana Bezuhla.
In the military correspondent’s opinion, the depiction on the DeepState map of the near-complete encirclement of the village of Makarivka in Donetsk region corresponds to reality. He noted that Ukrainian troops in the village of Makarivka were not encircled.
"So, DeepState was not lying, and the responsibility for the messages about the encirclement of troops lies with entirely different sources. The OSTG "Khortytsia" is right in that our troops in Makarivka are actually not encircled," he added.
The military correspondent emphasized that the OSTG "Khortytsia" under the command of General Hnatov did not have claims against DeepState but criticized the factual data on which social media messages were based, "in other words, they stated the unreliability of the data on the channel’s map". In Butusov’s opinion, if the OSTG had properly stated the absence of encirclement of troops in Makarivka, the problem would not have arisen.
"Thus, the OSTG apparently questioned the reliability of the DeepState map," the journalist concluded.