Russian propaganda telegram channels are spreading information that the Ukrainian Armed Forces could allegedly launch a full-scale offensive deep into Russian territory — into the Saratov, Oriol, Leningrad and Moscow regions — using Western weapons. In reporting this, the propagandists cite Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Office.

However, Podoliak's words were manipulated. This was reported by the VoxCheck project. In an interview with the German media Die Welt, published on October 14, 2024, Mykhailo Podoliak did mention the listed Russian regions, but in a different context. The adviser to the head of the OP spoke specifically about air attacks on military targets deep in Russian territory, and not about a full-scale offensive. When asked by a Die Welt journalist about the depletion of Russian resources and when a turning point would be reached, Mykhailo Podoliak replied:

“This year, the Kremlin is spending $140 billion on the war and investing heavily in the military industry. But the deficit is growing, especially in ammunition, shells and missiles. That is why our air strikes on Russian territory are so important. First, it destroys production, warehouses and logistics, which affects resources and further exacerbates exhaustion. This is the military component, but there is also a social component. When attacks are carried out on a large scale, not only in Kursk and other border areas, but deep in Russia, in Saratov, Oriol, Leningrad and the Moscow region, then the social mood is completely different. People understand that there is a war going on in Russia too”.

So, in his answer, Mykhailo Podolyiak emphasizes the importance of Ukrainian air strikes on military targets deep inside Russian territory.

In the end, the adviser to the head of the Presidential Office repeated similar theses in a commentary for RBC-Ukraine, published on October 16, 2024. In it, he indicated that the classified appendices to the Victory Plan state, in particular, what kind of weapons should be used to destroy logistics, military facilities and concentrations of manpower on Russian territory.