Kupyansk has been on the Russian menu since the spring.
[Korrespondent] The enemy is approaching Kupyansk.
Russian militaristic bloggers claim that the Russians managed to cut off the Kupyansk-Borovaya highway in the Kruglyakovka area.
The Russians continue their advance on different sections of the front. In particular, the occupiers have advanced southeast of Kupyansk in the east of the Kharkiv region. Geolocation footage confirms that they have occupied part of the village of Kolesnikovo, and Russian military bloggers claim that the Russians have managed to cut off the Kupyansk-Borovaya highway in the Kruglyakovka area. There is no official confirmation of Russian units reaching the Borovaya highway yet, but it is obvious that it is under full fire control and the Ukrainian Armed Forces cannot fully use it.
THE IMPORTANCE OF RUSSIAN SUCCESS
This means that the Russian army has effectively managed to cut the Ukrainian bridgehead on the eastern bank of the Oskol River. Now the supply of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units defending the area of the eastern suburbs of Kupyansk is tied to the only half-broken bridge on the Chuguev-Svatovo highway. Such logistics look extremely unreliable and could be disrupted by the first accurate hit of an aerial bomb or missile on the bridge support.
There are also reports of ongoing Russian attacks in many other directions – to the east, southeast and northeast of Kupyansk.
MANDATORY EVACUATION
On October 15, the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, Oleg Sinegubov, announced the mandatory evacuation of all citizens living in the city of Kupyansk, as well as the communities of Kondrashovka, Kurilovka and Borovaya, “due to the worsening military situation.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF KUPYANSK
Before the war, the Kupyansk agglomeration with a population of over 55 thousand people was one of the largest in the Kharkov region. In addition, Kupyansk is a major transport hub, with several highways and five railway lines running through it.
The city was captured by Russian troops at the very beginning of the invasion in February 2022. Kupyansky played a key role in military supply, in particular, troops and cargo were transferred through it from the territory of the Belgorod region to the Russian group operating near Izyum.
In September 2022, as a result of the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kupyansk was liberated and the Russian units were pushed far to the east beyond the Oskol River. In the summer of 2023, Russian troops again went on the offensive in the Kupyansk direction, but despite the large number and good technical equipment of the Zapad group they had assembled, the advance was slow.
However, by the fall of 2024, the Russian army managed to approach Kupyansk to a threatening distance. The city is subject to constant shelling and destruction, most of the residents left it even before the evacuation order.
THREAT TO SLAVYANSK AND KRAMATORSK
Slavyansk is the prize.
It will be extremely difficult for the Russians to capture all of Kupyansk. Most of the city is located on the high opposite bank, and the bridge across the river will most likely be blown up if Russian troops approach.
It is unlikely that the capture of the Kupyansk-Uzlovaya railway station will significantly facilitate Russian military logistics. Although it is located on the eastern bank of the Oskol, it was built so close to the river that direct fire can be conducted on it from the western bank.
However, the liquidation of the Ukrainian bridgehead on the left bank of the Oskol and the displacement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces beyond the reservoir allows the Russian army to create a stable defense there and secure the right flank of its group. This, in turn, creates the preconditions for changing the direction of attacks - advancing south along the river and the railway towards the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration.