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Ukrainian forces and Russian units remain in Kupiansk, Kharkiv region, with Russian troops managing to infiltrate the city’s northern districts and establish small positions there.
Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Joint Forces grouping, said this during a national telethon broadcast.
According to Trehubov, Russian troops entered the city through several routes, including via Holubivka, and attempted to entrench themselves in the northern residential areas.
“After the Russians had effectively been driven out of Kupiansk, they managed to create what they portrayed as a gray zone in Holubivka and use a pipeline. This allowed several dozen troops to infiltrate the northern districts and establish positions there,” Trehubov said.
He added that Kupiansk has suffered less destruction than Vovchansk, for example, and still has substantial buildings that can be used as shelters and military positions.
“Vovchansk has essentially been reduced to rubble. Kupiansk, by contrast, still has substantial buildings that can be used as shelters and positions for launching certain operations. There is still infrastructure there that can be put to use,” the spokesperson said.
Trehubov also said that Operation Veles aimed to completely disable the pipeline Russian forces had used to covertly infiltrate Ukrainian positions in the Kupiansk sector.
Since the operation, no further effective Russian infiltrations toward Kupiansk have been recorded, he said.
The spokesperson also reported that Russia’s forces in the Kharkiv region include mercenaries from Latin America and Africa, and, less frequently, Asia. Their numbers are small, and their combat capabilities do not differ significantly from those of other Russian troops, he added.
“They are there, and they are one of the sources of replenishment for Russian manpower,” Trehubov said.
Ukraine’s 2nd Corps of the National Guard, Khartiia, is conducting Operation Veles in the Kupiansk sector. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously said the operation had resulted in more than 100 Russian troops being killed and dozens captured. Ukrainian forces also advanced more than 15 kilometers underground as part of the operation.
