Ukrainian forces report no further Russian infiltration into Kupiansk after Operation Veles

Viktor Trehubov, spokesman for the Joint Forces Group, has said both Ukrainian troops and Russian units remain in the city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast. The Russians managed to infiltrate the city's northern districts and establish a foothold there in small groups.

Source: Trehubov on live TV, as reported by Ukrinform

Details: Trehubov said Russian troops had entered the city via several routes, including through the village of Holubivka, and had attempted to establish positions in the northern residential areas.

Quote: "After the Russians had effectively been driven out of Kupiansk once, and after they managed to create what they saw as a grey zone in Holubivka and use the pipeline, they were able to infiltrate the northern districts with a certain number of troops – several dozen, roughly – and establish positions there."

Details: Trehubov explained that Kupiansk has suffered less destruction than, for example, Vovchansk, and that its substantial buildings could be used as shelters and positions.

"Vovchansk has been reduced to rubble. But Kupiansk still has substantial buildings that can be used as shelters and launch sites. In general, there is still infrastructure there that can be put to use," he noted.

The spokesman also said that Operation Veles was aimed at completely disabling the pipeline that Russian forces had used to infiltrate the Kupiansk front covertly.

According to Trehubov, no further effective Russian infiltrations towards Kupiansk have been recorded since the operation.

Background:

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously commented on Operation Veles on the Kupiansk front, during which Ukraine's defence forces, under the command of the Khartiia Corps, advanced more than 15 km underground into the Russian rear.
• Zelenskyy said Russian forces had previously tried to use underground gas infrastructure to advance through Ukrainian positions and launch assaults. "Ukrainian warriors have successfully transformed this tactic, modernised it, and made it much more sophisticated and technologically advanced. We are protecting the lives of our people, inflicting losses on the occupiers, and achieving our objectives in the Kupiansk sector," the president wrote.

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