The Ukrainian army assured today that it continues to control most of the city of Kupyansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrinform reported, BTA reported.
Ground supplies to Russian troops occupying positions in northern Kupyansk have been cut off, the statement published on "Telegram" said.
According to the Ukrainian army, the Russians are simulating control, with small groups of their soldiers scattered around the city waving Russian flags that were delivered to them along with food packages from drones. The statement expressed the expectation that Russian media outlets would soon publish fake videos.
The General Staff (GS) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) announced today, also quoted by Ukrinform, that 26.6 square kilometers in the Pokrovsky district of the neighboring Donetsk region were "cleared" from the enemy yesterday. Both reports have not been independently verified. There has been no reaction from the Russian side so far.
Pokrovsk and Kupyansk are currently the main targets of the Russian army in Ukraine. It has been trying to capture them for months, with fierce fighting taking place in these cities. The summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from this morning states that there were a total of 176 battles yesterday, nearly a third of which - 52, took place precisely in the Pokrovskoye direction.
Kupyansk was already captured by Russia shortly after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, but was recaptured by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the fall of the same year. The Russian army has achieved some successes in the Zaporizhia region in recent days. Earlier today, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported on two more captured villages in the southeastern Ukrainian region.
This information has also not been independently confirmed. So far, there has been no reaction from Ukraine, which, however, announced this week that it has withdrawn its troops from several villages in the Zaporizhia region. After entering the Dnipropetrovsk region in late June, Russian forces have continued to advance there and in neighboring Zaporizhia region, where they have advanced on a relatively wide front of at least 30 kilometers in the past six weeks, according to pro-Ukrainian maps, Reuters notes.