A participant in the fighting near Kupyansk, Yuriy Butusov, has laid out how Ukrainian forces mounted a successful counterattack, derailed Russia’s advance and shifted momentum on one of the most difficult sectors of the front.
“I’ve been working for two months on the Kupyansk axis as part of the Khartia search-and-strike group and can now describe in detail the operation I’m directly involved in,” wrote Ukrainian journalist and 13th Brigade “Khartia” platoon commander Yuriy Butusov on his blog.
He cautioned that the operation to liberate Kupyansk is not over. “It’s too early to celebrate. The enemy attacks daily, trying to break back into the city from the north and along the left bank. The Russians still hold a significant part of Kupyansk, and fierce fighting continues.”
Commanding several UAV teams on the ground north of the city, Butusov credited the counterattack primarily to the soldiers at the front: “Infantry, artillery crews and drone operators, under precise artillery and UAV fire, broke through the enemy’s lines and repel attacks every day in extremely difficult conditions, unfortunately taking losses.”
To avoid “spreading inaccurate information,” he addressed who led the operation.
On September 21, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi formed a search-and-strike group north of Kupyansk based on the 2nd Army Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine, “Khartia.” The operation commander was the corps commander, Col. Ihor Obolenskyi. The senior officer in the sector at the time was operational-tactical group commander Gen. Dmytro Krasylnikov.
On September 24, assault elements of the 475th Regiment “Code 9.2,” led by Hero of Ukraine Oleh Nastenko, liberated Tyshchenkivka.
On October 9, assault groups from the 4th Battalion of the 92nd Assault Brigade under Maksym Kakuli, together with the 475th Regiment, liberated Kondrashivka.
On October 11, assault units from the 13th Brigade “Khartia,” commanded by Dmytro Nevgasymov, liberated Radkivka. The liberation of Kondrashivka and Radkivka was the turning point in breaking the Russian defenses.
On October 17, Mykhailo Drapatyi was appointed the senior officer for the sector.
On October 21, a Khartia assault group broke through to the Oskil River, severing Russian assault routes.
“From the start and to this day, planning, control and responsibility for our unit’s actions rest with Khartia corps commander Col. Obolenskyi and the grouping staff he appointed, led by Serhii Sydorin,” Butusov wrote. Claims in the blogosphere that Mykhailo Drapatyi allegedly commanded the operation “do not correspond to reality,” he added. “Gen. Drapatyi has ample achievements of his own; there’s no need to attribute others’ work to him. Every commander has a task, and each contribution should be judged honestly.”
He then described what unfolded on the ground.
By mid-September, the situation in Kupyansk had become critical. Units of Russia’s 68th Motor Rifle Division and 27th Motor Rifle Brigade crossed the Oskil River along a wide front, entrenched and pushed north of Kupyansk. The Russians captured Kondrashivka, Radkivka, Tyshchenkivka and Holubivka. Some positions of Ukraine’s 114th, 144th and 117th brigades were effectively cut off and encircled.
Using a gas pipeline and large forest tracts, Russian assault groups carved out a land route straight into Kupyansk and effectively took control of much of the city. A dominant height in northern Kupyansk, with a TV tower and high-rise blocks that control the approaches, also fell. These were not small sabotage teams but full assault elements of Russia’s 121st and 122nd regiments, the 27th brigade and the 1855th battalion.
The search-and-strike grouping was tasked with pushing the Russians back, reaching the Oskil, cutting routes into Kupyansk, encircling occupying forces in the city and then liberating it in coordination with the 10th Army Corps and the “Kupyansk” tactical group.
Khartia’s composition included elements of the 92nd Assault Brigade, the 475th Assault Regiment “Code 9.2,” the 13th Brigade “Khartia” and the 144th Mechanized Brigade. For specific tasks, a company from the 425th Assault Regiment “Skala” and a group from the Freedom of Russia Legion were attached. Drone support came from National Guard units “Lazar” and “Typhoon” and the Kharkiv region patrol police.
The Russians established a full battalion defensive zone around Tyshchenkivka, Kondrashivka and Radkivka and simultaneously created a “kill zone” with extremely dense UAV activity by unmanned forces units, the 7th regiment and the “Judgment Day” and “Rubicon” groups. Avoiding Russian drones there was nearly impossible. During the first reconnaissance, a Russian fiber-optic drone struck their Novator armored vehicle; only the vehicle’s protection kept them alive.
Despite resistance and Russian superiority in drones, precise planning allowed the Ukrainians to breach the “kill zone” along two axes. The surprise, Butusov said, reduced losses and avoided drawn-out fights over individual positions.
Assault elements of the 475th Regiment “Code 9.2” and the 92nd Assault Brigade smashed Russian positions near Kondrashivka, took control of a key forest and inflicted heavy losses with UAV strikes. In that forest, positions held by 114th Brigade soldiers isolated for more than six months were liberated.
Units of the 13th Brigade “Khartia” liberated Radkivka and executed the main task—breaking through to the Oskil and fully restoring the ground defensive line. As a result, the Russian route into Kupyansk was cut, and all exits from the pipeline were reconnoitered and turned into Ukrainian “kill zones.”
Troops from the 92nd and 144th brigades secured favorable lines, fought hard and effectively beat back attacks, destroying attempts to break through or infiltrate.
By early November, Butusov said, Russian forces in Kupyansk were fully encircled. Commanders of Russia’s 68th Division launched daily counterattacks to prevent the rapid destruction of the surrounded units. Even in one- or two-man teams, Russian assault troops kept trying to slip through Ukrainian lines in fog and rain, sparking skirmishes even in the close rear—where a Ukrainian mortar team recently captured two Russian soldiers.
North of Kupyansk, the Russian troops have been unable to break Khartia’s defenses. All infiltrating groups are being methodically eliminated through coordinated reconnaissance, teamwork and fires, he said. Ukrainian losses are significant, but Russian losses are “multiples higher.” Khartia’s grouping alone has confirmed the elimination of more than 1,000 Russian soldiers and the capture of 13, according to Butusov.
Khartia has begun advancing into northern districts of Kupyansk and, together with fighters from the “Kupyansk” tactical group, has liberated several key residential areas.
Butusov singled out the “Kupyansk” tactical group under Maj. Gen. Volodymyr Solimchuk, and troops of the 127th, 125th and 116th mechanized brigades, the 425th Regiment “Skala,” the 101st Security Brigade, special units of the Military Law Enforcement Service, the SBU, the 151st regiment, SOF and KORD. “They aren’t numerous, but they first stopped the enemy’s advance and are now pushing forward to link up with Khartia, jointly liberating the city.”
It was the “Kupyansk” tactical group, he said, that completely freed the Yubileinyi high-rise district, depriving the Russians of the ability to hold the city’s southern part.
He also highlighted the 116th and 14th mechanized brigades of the 10th Army Corps, which under extremely difficult conditions have long held the approaches to Kupyansk on the Oskil’s left bank, preventing another Russian push into the city. “Without them, the defense of Kupyansk would have been impossible.”
Statements by Vladimir Putin and Valery Gerasimov on November 20 about the purported “full liberation” of Kupyansk were met with irony by Ukrainian troops, Butusov wrote, since by then Russian forces had already been completely cut off from the city.
“I can’t reveal all the tactical nuances that allowed limited forces to break through the ‘kill zone’ and reach the Oskil,” he added. “But it’s the commanders’ work that creates battlefield advantages—even against an enemy superior in manpower and drones. In my view, the command’s actions are an example of effective asymmetric solutions in an extremely complex, chaotic environment.”
The operation to liberate Kupyansk remains far from complete, he said. Clearing continues “house by house,” complicated by the presence of civilians “whom the Russians use as human shields.” The Russians attack daily on both banks of the Oskil, trying to force a path back into the city. He appealed for support for the frontline units he mentioned.
