The situation in Kupyansk and the nearby settlement of Kupyansk-Uzlovoy remains stable and is generally shifting in favor of Ukraine’s Defense Forces. There is currently no threat of the city being captured, as Russian troops have not achieved significant gains on the flanks.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, roughly 40 Russian soldiers may be inside Kupyansk, their communications intercepted by signals intelligence, said Viktor Tregubov, head of communications for the Joint Forces grouping.
While there may be more Russian troops on the outskirts, their presence inside the city is extremely limited.
Tregubov said Russian forward elements in Kupyansk are facing serious supply problems. The only available delivery method is airdropping cargo from drones. In other words, the enemy is dealing with logistical difficulties: for Russian forward groups in Kupyansk, only so-called “air bridges” exist, with everything dropped by UAVs. Even then, assault units struggle to pick up the cargo because Ukrainian drones control the city.
At the same time, he noted, it is not easy to dislodge even that number of soldiers from entrenched positions.
“Urban combat is a terrifying thing, and in the current situation it’s a two-star task. So the enemy can remain in such positions for quite a while, until they die from drone strikes or from lack of provisions,” he said.
After failing to take Kupyansk by direct assault, Russian forces are attempting to bypass the settlement. However, a large ring-shaped area around the district center complicates such maneuvers.
“The enemy is trying to press to the east of it, trying to push Ukrainian troops off the left bank of the Oskil River. Not very successfully, but there is real pressure there, serious attempts. Unlike the city itself, getting in there is not especially easy. As for Kupyansk-Uzlovoy, despite Putin’s claims that 15 battalions are encircled there - which physically can’t even fit - the settlement itself is holding and well fortified. But to the east of it, the Russians are trying to push, to break through that way if they can’t do it otherwise,” Tregubov said.
He also said that worsening weather - such as heavy fog - could partly help Russian units move covertly. However, under current conditions, it is difficult for them even to approach the city.
Fighting continues in Kupyansk between Ukraine’s Armed Forces and Russia’s military. Military observer Bogdan Miroshnikov said that despite the tense situation, conditions for the Russian troops in the city are worse than before.
