Ukrainian Armed Forces and Russian troops are in Kupiansk; Ukrainian defense forces have destroyed the enemy’s infiltration route, - Trehubov
Fighting continues in Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast; both Ukrainian defense forces and Russian troops are present in the city. The occupying forces have managed to advance to the northern part of the settlement and establish a foothold there with small infantry groups.
Viktor Trehubov, a spokesperson for the Joint Forces Operation, made this statement during a television broadcast, according to Censor.NET.
What is the current situation in Kupiansk?
In particular, he emphasized that Russian troops had been infiltrating the city, notably via Holubivka, and were attempting to establish a foothold in the northern residential area.
"After the Russians were effectively driven out of Kupiansk once, and after they managed to establish a buffer zone in Holubivka—including by using a pipeline—they were able to infiltrate a certain number of troops—somewhere in the range of several dozen people—into the northern districts and gain a foothold there," the spokesperson noted.
He added that Kupiansk is currently less damaged than, for example, Vovchansk, and its sturdy buildings allow them to be used as shelters and defensive positions.
"Take Vovchansk, for example—it’s been reduced to rubble. But in Kupiansk, there are solid structures; there are things there that can be used both as cover and as launch points, and, in principle, there are resources to work with," Trehubov noted.
Results of Operation "Veles"
Trehubov also reported that Operation "Veles" was aimed at completely disabling the pipeline that the Russians were using for covert infiltration in the Kupiansk direction. According to him, following the operation, no further effective infiltrations by Russian troops toward Kupiansk have been recorded.
In addition, Trehubov added that mercenaries from Latin America, Africa, and, less frequently, Asia are fighting in the Russian army in the Kharkiv region. As the spokesperson noted, there are not many of them, and in terms of combat capabilities, they do not fundamentally differ from other Russian soldiers.
"But they are there, and they are one of the sources of reinforcements for Russian troops," he said.
