Operation to liberate Kupiansk ongoing – military spokesperson

Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for the Dnipro Operational and Strategic Group of Forces, said this on Ukrainian television, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"This operation will continue for some time. They [the occupiers] have already been cut off from supplies, which is good, but now the city still needs to be fully cleared of the Russians who are currently there," Trehubov said, adding that any urban combat is always extremely difficult, as the Ukrainian Defense Forces prioritize the lives of their defenders.

"Since Ukrainian forces are acting with maximum caution and are protecting the lives of both soldiers and civilians, it is obvious that this will be very precise, meticulous work, and therefore appropriately complicated," the spokesperson said.

He also stressed that in recent days the enemy has been surrendering, and among the prisoners are not only Russians but also mercenaries from third-world countries.

"There are those who are surrendering, and not only Russians. Over the past few days, foreign mercenaries have been surrendering quite actively. I will not specify exactly which countries they are from, but they are third-world countries," the spokesperson said.

When asked about whether additional Russian forces are being redeployed toward Kupiansk to change the situation in the enemy's favor, Trehubov said: "If they had the practical ability to do so, they would not have allowed the city to be effectively encircled."

Trehubov also commented on the situation near Vovchansk in northern Kharkiv region. According to him, the city has effectively ceased to exist as a populated area.

"The situation in Vovchansk is indeed difficult. The Russians are really pushing in from the north, while Ukrainians are holding the defense along the Vovcha River. But the city has been heavily destroyed; as a populated area, it has unfortunately effectively ceased to exist. It must be understood that when a city is so close to the border and is constantly hit by FAB glide bombs, they simply destroyed it deliberately. Vovchansk itself was no longer needed as a city with a population. They were just trying to create a kind of security zone near the Russian border – to advance and hold such a zone so that Ukrainians would not be able to move further and threaten, among others, Russia's Kursk, Belgorod and other regions," he said.

Photo: Screenshot from an LB Live video