The Ukrainian Defense Forces have liberated a significant part of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region from Russian troops. This is confirmed by numerous geo-located videos published throughout December. This is reported in a report by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) dated December 28.
Analysts note that, against the backdrop of Ukrainian successes, the Russian Defense Ministry is trying to hide the defeats in the Kupyansk direction. In particular, on December 27, the department resumed publishing detailed reports after a wave of criticism from Russian military bloggers, who accused the command and Kremlin officials of exaggerating information about the alleged advance of Russian troops in the city.
On the same day, the Russian Ministry of Defense published statements by commanders of several motorized rifle regiments of the 6th Combined Arms Army, who claimed that Russian units control Kupyansk and are conducting combat operations in the central and northeastern regions. ISW considers these statements to be an attempt to reduce the negative reaction of the Russian information space to the loss of positions.
Analysts also drew attention to the fact that after the successes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian state media significantly reduced coverage of the situation in Kupyansk, although they were still publishing daily detailed reports on this issue at the end of November. The Kremlin is probably also involving State Duma deputies who publicly deny Ukrainian achievements in the information campaign.
At the same time, ISW reports that geolocation videos published on December 16, 20, and 26 indicate the advancement of Ukrainian units in the central part of Kupyansk, in particular along the Kupyansk-Shevchenkove and Kupyansk-Chuguyiv routes. According to analysts, these data are consistent with the Ukrainian side’s statements about the liberation of most of the city.
The Ukrainian military notes that hostilities in this direction continue, and the Russian command is transferring reserves and actively using drones, but the initiative in the city remains with the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
