Russia cannot recapture positions it previously held near Kupiansk
The Russians cannot regain the positions they previously held, not only in Kupiansk itself but also in the surrounding area.
According to Ukrinform, Viktor Tregubov, head of the Communications Department for the Joint Forces Task Force, announced this on television.
"They are trying to climb in, infiltrate in small groups, and carry out mining operations, among other things. But in the Kupiansk sector, they cannot even restore any positions yet, not only in the city itself, but also around the city, which they previously occupied. [There, the Russians] are conducting quite active operations. There is an active attempt to replace personnel in the Kupiansk area, but they are not having any luck in that particular sector," he said.
Responding to a question about whether enemy groups remain in Kupiansk, the spokesman noted that 10 unique call signs had been recorded over the past day.
“We multiply that by two and understand how many of them are left there now, directly in the area where they are currently located. Well, we let them sit there. Over the past day, one has definitely been killed; that is what has been directly documented. But somewhere out there, one or two are dying every day,” Tregubov said.
Speaking about the situation in Vovchansk and around the city, he said that the Russians are indeed trying to actively bypass Ukrainian positions.
“Let me remind you that Ukrainian positions are located in the southeastern part, and they are trying to simply bypass them with flanking maneuvers and force them [Ukrainian defenders] to retreat from the city, etc. It is not working, the tactics are clear, but as of now, it is not working,” the spokesman said.
Tregubov explained that the pressure on the Vovchansk sector is particularly challenging, partly because the defensive configuration is not particularly favourable: There are many Russians, the border is close, the Ukrainian positions are not particularly advantageous, etc.
“Obviously, only ruins remain of the city, so it is not as convenient to hold positions on ruins as it is to hold positions in more or less stable buildings. But what can you do? It's war. We should at least thank Vovchansk for how long we held back the enemy and how many enemies we crushed there,” he said.
As reported by Ukrinform, Tregubov said that without Starlink, the enemy lacks the technology to advance.
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