Ukrainian forces are defending their positions and pursuing sabotage groups in the northeastern city of Kupyansk despite Moscow's statements that its troops are in full control of it, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) said, quoted by Reuters, reported by BTA.
"Our soldiers continue to take both defensive and search and strike actions", Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky wrote on Telegram after visiting this section of the front, located in the Kharkiv region. "These actions are being taken daily as part of comprehensive measures to stabilize the situation in Kupyansk. The scale of the Russian leadership's lies about the situation in Kupyansk is impressive."
Russia captured Kupyansk in the first weeks of the 2022 invasion, but later that year Ukrainian troops retook it.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the city was back in Moscow's hands, and on Thursday, during a visit to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, he reiterated that the city was fully under Russian control.
Syrsky, however, rejected these claims.
According to him, Ukrainian forces are "holding certain lines and increasing fire pressure on the enemy so as to block its supply routes".
Russian army also attacks Pokrovsk
Moscow's forces control about a fifth of Ukraine's territory amid diplomatic shuttles to achieve peace. Among the efforts to resolve the conflict is the latest US peace plan, which now includes contributions from Kiev's European allies.
In addition to the largely destroyed Kupyansk, another target for Russian forces is Pokrovsk, a major transport hub further south in Donetsk region.
On Thursday, Putin said Russian forces controlled 70% of Pokrovsk, known in Russia by its Soviet name Krasnoarmeysk.
Yesterday, the Russian Defense Ministry said its troops had captured two of the city's outer districts.
On Thursday, Syrsky said Ukrainian troops were blocking attempts by Russian forces to launch new attacks on Pokrovsk and neighboring Mirnograd. Last night, in its evening briefing, the Ukrainian military reported that Russian forces had launched 65 attacks in an attempt to break through Ukrainian defenses in the area.
Russia has also gained ground further south, in the Zaporizhzhia region.
According to the Ukrainian military blog "DeepState", which uses open-source data to track the positions of the two armies, Ukrainian troops are trying to create another defensive line in the area of the town of Gulyaipole to counter Russian attacks.