Russia Claims Full Recapture of Strategic City Kupiansk in Eastern Ukraine

Russian military authorities announced on Thursday that their forces have fully recaptured the strategic city of Kupiansk in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, reclaiming a critical railway and logistics hub that had remained under Ukrainian control since Kyiv’s lightning counter-offensive in September 2022. The fall of the city represents one of Moscow’s most important territorial victories in recent months and severely undermines Ukraine’s ability to reinforce and resupply its battered eastern front line.

In a televised address, Colonel-General Sergei Kuzovlev, commander of Russia’s western troop grouping, personally informed President Vladimir Putin that his units had “completed the liberation of the city of Kupiansk,” emphasising its role as a “key cog in the defensive system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” He stated that Russian troops now control all administrative buildings, transport junctions, and surrounding heights, effectively cutting off major Ukrainian supply routes and creating the conditions for further advances toward the Oskil River and beyond.

Kupiansk, a pre-war city of approximately 55,000 inhabitants, was originally overrun within hours of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 before being dramatically retaken by Ukrainian forces later that year. Over the past several months, relentless Russian artillery barrages, glide-bomb strikes, and massed infantry assaults have gradually eroded Ukrainian defences, forcing Kyiv’s exhausted units into a fighting withdrawal amid critical shortages of artillery shells, air defence missiles, and fresh reinforcements.

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The timing of the victory announcement is particularly significant, coming just hours after Ukrainian officials confirmed receipt of a detailed U.S. peace proposal whose contents, according to a senior diplomatic source speaking to international media, closely mirror Moscow’s long-standing maximalist demands, including formal recognition of all territories currently occupied by Russian forces. The battlefield success strengthens the Kremlin’s negotiating position as winter approaches.

President Vladimir Putin marked the occasion with a high-profile visit to a forward command post of the western grouping on Thursday, where he received comprehensive updates from senior commanders on the evolving situation across the front. The Kremlin described the trip as routine but deliberately highlighted Putin’s direct involvement, projecting confidence that sustained military pressure will compel Kyiv to accept terms increasingly favourable to Moscow in any future settlement.

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