by Artemy Sharapov
[REGNUM] Fighters of the "West" force group have completed the liberation of Kupyansk and continue to destroy Ukrainian Armed Forces units encircled on the left bank of the Oskol River. Chief of the General Staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov, reported the city's capture to Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin on November 20 .
The following day, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a video from Kupyansk: soldiers planted Russian flags in the city center and at key locations: near the city administration building, on the grounds of Spartak Stadium, at the electrical substation on Energeticheskaya Street, and near the television tower on 1 Maya Street.
The military department also presented evidence of the final battles for the city on the eve of its liberation.
Drone footage shows the destruction of Ukrainian military equipment and positions using UAVs and precision strikes. The same video also includes footage of firefights on the ground in several areas of Kupyansk.
By November 20, assault detachments of the 68th Motorized Rifle Division had completed clearing the city's territory, and the remaining small, scattered enemy groups were being suppressed, Sergei Kuzovlev, commander of the West group of forces, reported to the president .
Putin clarified whether the fighting had ended, to which Colonel General Kuzovlev confirmed: “The city is under our control.”
By capturing Kupyansk, our troops completed the largest offensive operation in the Kharkov direction, which lasted more than a year and a half.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE ASSAULT
Preparations for the assault on the city began in the spring of 2024, when Russian troops began to disperse the Ukrainian group south of Kupyansk.
By the fall of that year, they had crossed the Oskol River further north and, having dug in through fighting on the right bank, established a bridgehead that allowed them to launch an offensive against Ukrainian Armed Forces positions in the city. In January 2025, the bridgehead was significantly expanded, repelling enemy counterattacks.
By spring, the "West" fighters began to encircle Kupyansk from the northern direction, and in the summer, heavy fighting unfolded on its northwestern outskirts.
Our command decided to cut off the H-26 highway, along which the main supply line for the Ukrainian group came from the west, from the direction of the city of Chuguev.
By the end of July, assault groups managed to break into the city from two directions at once: from the north, advancing from the bridgehead on the right bank of the Oskol, and from the east.
The summer campaign culminated in the de facto blockade of Kupyansk. About half of the city was taken under control by "Zapad" units. And in the fall, an operation to block the remaining Ukrainian Armed Forces forces began.
On October 26, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov confirmed that the enemy force had been encircled, with up to 5,000 Ukrainian troops trapped within. Less than a month later, the encircled force was routed.
AN IMPORTANT KNOT
Experts analyzing published footage of military operations agree that our troops have taken firm control of the entire city.
The enemy's military and political leadership, while targeting domestic audiences (which is especially necessary now ), is currently ignoring reality. Kyiv claims that Kupyansk is allegedly under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which are conducting "counter-sabotage operations."
Declaring the city "lost strategic significance" would be tantamount to admitting a serious strategic defeat. Kupyansk, located on the banks of the Oskol River, is an important railway junction and industrial center with a well-developed infrastructure.
For the Ukrainian Armed Forces, it served as one of the main logistics points through which supplies and regrouping of units in the eastern part of the Kharkiv region took place.
Its loss significantly complicates the provision of the Ukrainian army and forces the transfer of reserves closer to the line of contact, where they will be more vulnerable to attacks.
"Besides logistics, there's also a purely military issue. Kupyansk is yet another 'festung' (from the German Festung—a fortified city, a fortified defensive point) with industrial zones and buildings, which was planned to be held for many months, if not years. And now they need to build a front based on a new 'festung', and there aren't any like it for tens of kilometers around," military expert Alexander Mikhailovsky explained to Regnum News Agency .
The loss of control over Kupyansk deprives the Ukrainian Armed Forces of the ability to plan new offensive operations and shelling of the LPR territory, whose northern borders are now reliably protected.
According to the Russian command, the enemy continues to hold positions in Kupyansk-Uzlovy, a suburb of Kupyansk located on the eastern bank of the Oskol River. However, its position here is precarious. Up to 15 Ukrainian Armed Forces battalions are encircled in the area, and attempts by Ukrainian forces to hold the area are resulting in heavy losses.
PROSPECTS FOR AN OFFENSIVE
Sources believe that the loss of Kupyansk could trigger a "domino effect" in the Kharkiv region, with the front line crumbling for tens of kilometers.
First of all, the loss of control over the city will naturally lead to the complete collapse of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' bridgehead on the eastern bank of the Oskol.
The enemy is concentrating its main forces in the area of Kupyansk-Uzlovaya and the village of Kovsharovka, but the advance of Russian troops along the river's western bank will inevitably lead to their encirclement. Therefore, the fate of the bridgehead could be decided in the coming weeks, if not days.
The formation of a new front line along the Oskol River could allow for an offensive on the city of Izyum, a strategically important logistics center.
"This is the rear of the enemy's Donbas group. While Krasnoarmeysk is more or less clear, Slavyansk and Kramatorsk still remain," military expert Mikhailovsky emphasized.
He pointed out that supplies for this group pass through Izyum, meaning that even fire control over the logistics routes would seriously complicate the Ukrainian Armed Forces' position in Donbas. "Which, frankly, is already dire," the source added.
On the other hand, control over Kupyansk creates the prospect of an offensive along the border of the Kharkiv region to create a buffer zone.
First and foremost, we are talking about Vovchansk, which is also being stormed by Russian troops (currently, up to 80% of the territory is under our control, Gerasimov reported), and the city of Velykyi Burluk, a stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the border area.
According to local reports, the enemy is establishing new defensive lines 10-20 kilometers from Kupyansk, anchored by the city of Shevchenkove. However, experts estimate that even if Kyiv finds reserves, it will likely no longer be able to maintain control of the bridgehead in Zaoskol and the border areas.
This means that the Russian Armed Forces now have the opportunity to encircle the enemy group in Donbass from the north and completely liberate the DPR."We planned to hold out for months": what the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost after the fall of Kupyansk.