Lyman direction remains enemy’s key target, - Trehubov
Russia is attempting to establish a zone of control along the border and is stepping up pressure in the Lyman sector. This sector remains a priority for Russian forces.
According to Censor.NET, Viktor Trehubov, a spokesperson for the Joint Forces Operation, announced this on television.
"The main and most critical objective for the enemy is Liman. Liman has long been its target, as its ultimate goal is to reach the northern outskirts of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk metropolitan area, and to do so, it must capture Liman and then advance on Raigorodok. From there, they would directly advance on the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk metropolitan area, but for years the enemy has been unable to do so," said Tregubov.
Kupiansk and other settlements are either supporting this offensive or are part of the enemy’s broader objective to establish a zone of control along the Ukrainian-Russian border.
"For example, there’s the town of Vovchansk, and small settlements and villages right along the border that they needed to capture in order to carry out their commanders’ original plan to create a zone that would prevent a repeat of the Kursk Offensive, and ideally would not allow Ukrainian drones to reach Belgorod, Bryansk, and so on," Tregubov said.
Fighting near Kupiansk
As the spokesperson added, the enemy’s offensive operations in the Kupiansk area remain unsuccessful. According to him, the enemy is attempting to attack the city from the north and east, seeking to reduce the size of the Ukrainian bridgehead on the left bank of the Oskil River, but these attempts have not been successful.
"Neither offensive has been successful, because after the Russians withdrew directly from the city—after their organized presence there was effectively eliminated—a zone was established around the city that the Russians are currently unable to penetrate. Pishchane is one of the key targets in their plans, but they are being eliminated before they even reach the city of Kupiansk," he said.
He added that Russian forces may be approaching populated areas but are not entering them.
"The Russians are unable to achieve their objectives, but they are suffering direct personnel losses," he said.
The enemy makes almost no use of armored vehicles, relying instead on infantry or a combination of infantry and UAVs. Any armored vehicles that enter the combat zone are destroyed; therefore, as Tregubov noted, the enemy has made little use of them over the past year and has resorted to tactics involving the infiltration of small infantry groups.
"And this is the only tactic that, in principle, might actually work at this stage of the war. Although, to be honest, even this is already starting to fail, at least in those sections of the front where drones are operating effectively and the enemy is being effectively eliminated before they even approach our positions," said Tregubov.
