"Gray zone" expands in Kupiansk direction where fighting moves to populated areas

That’s according to Oleh Syniehubov, chief of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"For several days, the Russians ran active assaults in this direction but they never succeeded. Our ‘gray zone’ has somewhat expanded as several more settlements have come under fire and hostilities are actually taking place there. Our Armed Forces are holding positions, destroying the enemy. Indeed, the latter has accumulated quite significant forces there, but this was a gradual process so there were no surprises for our Armed Forces," Syniehubov said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the invaders shelled the liberated city of Kupiansk, Kharkiv region, three times last night and overnight Wednesday, destroying a number of households.

Over the past 24 hours, a civilian was killed and two others were injured across the region as a result of enemy shelling.

According to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, since Saturday, July 15, Russian troops have been conducting active assault operations in the Kupiansk direction, trying to penetrate Ukrainian defenses.