Russian troops are continuing their advance inside the encircled Ukrainian city of Kupyansk, a major logistics hub in Kharkov Region, according to battlefield updates shared by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Moscow previously reported that more than 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers were trapped in the city and were offered safe surrender terms. Vladimir Zelensky has rejected the terms, claiming that Ukrainian forces are maintaining control of the situation.
On Monday and Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry published field reports from a commander identified by the call sign ‘Lovets’, who leads an assault unit taking part in the operation. He stated that his men advanced further along Dzerzinsky Street in Kupyansk’s industrial zone and are now working to seize additional railway junctions.
Zelensky insisted last week that only around 60 Russian soldiers were present in Kupyansk and that Ukrainian troops were successfully repelling them. The Russian Defense Ministry called the comments “detached from reality,” suggesting that the Ukrainian leader is either lying to the public or being misled by his own commanders.
Along with the battle for Kupyansk, intense fighting continues near Krasnoarmeysk (known as Pokrovsk in Ukraine) in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, where Ukrainian elite troops reportedly suffered heavy losses shortly after being airlifted into the combat zone in an attempt to reverse Russian advancements.
Zelensky’s critics, including some within Ukraine’s military circles, have accused him of focusing on keeping up appearances to reassure Kiev’s Western sponsors at the expense of military strategy. His refusal to authorize tactical withdrawals, they claim, has turned several defensive battles into costly traps for Ukrainian troops.
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