Russians trying to attack toward Kupiansk to weaken Ukraine’s counteroffensive - defense chief

The Russian Army is intensifying its offensive efforts in the Kupiansk direction in order to weaken the capabilities of Ukraine’s Armed Forces in counteroffensive action.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov spoke of this during a briefing in Odesa, Ukrinform reports.

"They are trying to attack there in order to reduce the capacity of Ukraine’s defense forces in our zone of counterattack.

It is their hope that we will regroup the forces from the south and react accordingly," said Reznikov.

The Minister of Defense also emphasized that also in the east of Ukraine, the Armed Forces are successfully pursuing the operation to besiege the town of Bakhmut, and therefore the Russians themselves are forced to maneuver their reserves there.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, referring to the General Staff, over 25 combat clashes took place along the front lines in the past day.

In particular, in the Kupiansk direction, the enemy launched an air strike west of Mykolaivka. The Russians also took on offensive actions in the Sinkivka district, Kharkiv region, seeing no success. The settlements of Topoli, Masiutivka, Kupiansk, Kislivka, and Berestove, Kharkiv region, were subjected to Russian artillery and mortar fire.