Ukraine’s armed forces say they have repelled a Russian attack on the city of Kupyansk in the northeast of Kharkiv region, denying Moscow’s claims that Russian forces have been able to strengthen their positions at this strategic transportation hub.
Earlier, regional official Vitaly Ganchev, appointed by Moscow, claimed that Russian forces have taken positions in the outskirts of Kupyansk city and are advancing to the northeast and southeast.
“Information about the capture of the settlement of Ilinka and the reinforcement of Russian troops in the city of Kupyansk is untrue,” the Strategic Communications Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on November 14.
“The General Staff informs that yesterday Ukrainian soldiers stopped the advance of the enemy in Kupyansk, destroying all their armored vehicles and eliminating most of the manpower,” the message reads.
Neither Russian nor Ukrainian claims can be independently verified.
Russian forces captured the strategically important Kupyansk railway junction in February 2022, at the start of the invasion of Moscow, but a swift counter-offensive liberated it by Ukrainian forces in the autumn of the same year.