Russians entrenched in northern Kupiansk after infiltration via Holubivka

Russian occupiers have again reached the northern districts of Kupiansk in Kharkiv region and fortified their positions there. This was stated by Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for the Joint Forces Group.

How the enemy penetrated the city

According to Trehubov, Russian military are again attempting to infiltrate the city, using the territory of Holubivka for this purpose. After Ukrainian defenders previously effectively pushed the enemy out of Kupiansk, the adversary formed a so-called "grey zone" in Holubivka. Thanks to this zone and the use of engineering structures, specifically pipes, Russian fighters managed to infiltrate small groups of personnel numbering several dozen into the northern areas of the city.

«Після того, як один раз росіяни були з Куп’янська фактично вибиті, і після того, як росіяни у Голубівці змогли намалювати собі сіру зону і, в тому числі, використовувати трубу, вони змогли інфільтрувати певну чисельність - десь кілька десятків осіб, у північні райони, і там закріпитися» (After the Russians were effectively driven out of Kupiansk once, and after they managed to draw up a grey zone for themselves in Holubivka and, among other things, use the pipe, they were able to infiltrate a certain number - somewhere several dozen people - into the northern areas and entrench themselves there), the spokesperson noted.

State of city infrastructure and enemy tactics

Trehubov emphasised that Kupiansk has suffered significantly less destruction compared to other settlements, such as Vovchansk. If Vovchansk, according to the spokesperson, has been destroyed to the state of gravel, then Kupiansk has retained a sufficient amount of permanent construction. This allows Russian troops to use sturdy buildings as cover and firing positions.

«Той самий Вовчанськ - він просто перебраний до стану щебеню. А Куп’янськ - там є капітальна забудова, там є що використовувати і як укриття, і як точки для певних запусків, і, в принципі, там є з чим працювати» (That same Vovchansk - it is simply ransacked to the state of gravel. And Kupiansk - there is permanent construction there, there is something to use both as cover and as points for certain launches, and, in principle, there is something to work with), Trehubov remarked.

Results of the "Veles" operation and enemy composition

Separately, the spokesperson mentioned the "Veles" operation, the aim of which was to completely disable the pipeline used by the Russians for covert infiltration on the Kupiansk direction. After the implementation of this operation, effective infiltrations of Russian troops towards Kupiansk were no longer recorded.

In addition, Trehubov reported that mercenaries from Latin America and Africa, less often from Asia, are fighting in the ranks of the Russian army in Kharkiv region. According to him, their numbers are small, and their combat qualities do not fundamentally differ from those of other Russian troops.

«Але вони є, і вони є одним з джерел поповнення російського особового складу» (But they are there, and they are one of the sources of replenishment of Russian personnel), he said.