Only several dozen Russian troops remain in Kupiansk – Trehubov

Viktor Trehubov, head of the Communications Department of the Joint Forces Grouping, stated this during a TV broadcast, Ukrinform's correspondent reports.

"Several dozen. They are surrendering; there have even been cases of foreigners being taken prisoner – mercenaries who are foreigners to the Russians," Trehubov said when asked about the number of Russian troops in the city.

According to him, Russian so-called war correspondents have completely changed their rhetoric regarding Kupiansk and have effectively acknowledged the failure of the defense.

"Yesterday there was a whole wave of calls saying that it's over, that Kupiansk has been lost. That is, even Russian propagandists have switched to the line that the city has been lost by them," he noted.

He emphasized that in fact Kupiansk was never fully captured by Russian forces, except for a short period in 2022.

"In reality, it was never taken by them in order to be lost, if we do not count the short period in 2022," Trehubov stressed.

At the same time, he reported that Russian units that tried to entrench themselves in the northern districts of the city were defeated and have no capability to change the situation.

"They themselves are already admitting that the defense of the city by the same units that entered it and tried to entrench themselves in its northern districts has failed, and that it will no longer be possible to relieve them," Trehubov said.

According to him, pressure from Russian forces continues, but it is mainly focused on the outskirts of Kupiansk from the other bank of the Oskil River.

"Supplying them only by an air bridge is not something that allows them to hold out for long," he added.

Commenting on the enemy's assault actions, Trehubov said that the Russians carry out several attempts per day, but without any significant results.

"Now it is actually several per day; there is hardly any talk of regrouping at the moment," he said.

According to him, the Ukrainian counterattack came as a surprise to the enemy, and Russian forces currently lack the resources to regain control of the situation.

"As of now, they simply do not have additional capabilities to somehow restore the situation," Trehubov concluded.

As Ukrinform reported, over the past day, December 24, five Russian attacks were recorded in the Kupiansk direction. The Defense Forces repelled assault actions toward Petropavlivka, Pishchane, Zahryzove, and Kupiansk.