Kupiansk Now Being Cleared By Ukraine In Addition To Pokrovsk

What a difference a week makes. Not so long ago, the Russian high command was smugly assuring the world that the Ukrainians in Pokrovsk and Kupiansk were surrounded. 

It's not even clear that that was then, given the source and its penchant for exaggeration. But as for now, Ukrainian forces are clearing Kupiansk and, as reported earlier, have largely stopped the Russians at Pokrovsk thanks to Ukrainian counterattacks. JL

Decimus reports in Daily Kos:

Contrary to Putin’s boast last week that Ukrainian forces in Kupiansk(and Pokrovsk) have been encircled, it is rather Ukraine that is about to finish slicing and dusting off the Russian salient at Kupiansk.  President Zelenskyy reported today that the clean up process in Kupiansk is nearing its end. Only "60 Russian servicemen remain in Kupyansk, and the city is being cleared." Ukrainian tactical response to these situations was developed and honed at Chasiv Yar, just 6 miles from Bakhmut, which is still held by Ukraine. Syrskyi was the senior commander at Bakhmut during that battle.  He learned a few things.

Contrary to Putin’s boast last week that Ukrainian forces in Kupiansk(and Pokrovsk) have been encircled, it is rather Ukraine that is about to finish slicing and dusting off the Russian salient at Kupiansk.  President Zelenskyy reported today that the clean up process in Kupiansk is nearing its end, with future announcements already set and forthcoming:

Zelenskyy announced a complete sweep of Kupyansk, where about 60 occupiers remain

President Zelenskyy reported that up to 60 Russian servicemen remain in Kupyansk, and the city is being cleared.

unn.ua/…

'Dates set': Zelenskyy announces plans to fully clear Ukraine's Kupiansk of Russian troops

 The Ukrainian president said that up to 60 Russian military personnel remain in Kupiansk.

"A clearance operation is underway. We will clear everything. The dates have been set; they were decided at the meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief,” Zelenskyy said.

He also noted that he cannot share more detailed information at this time.

newsukraine.rbc.ua/...

The Russian effort to cross the Oskil river and invest Kupiansk was never a surprise to the Ukrainians who have been watching and by careful and calculated skirmishing had indeed “trained” the Russians to make their assaults from the wide open countryside in the north instead of the east and southeast where the real goal of the Russian campaign is located … the very important rail hub at Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi ... just south of the city itself.

 

Perhaps as the Russians are doing now in Pokrovsk ... sneak in enough infils and SRGs(often dressed as civilians) in between the gaps of the Ukrainian lines, hunker down, then follow up with a steady trickle of same until they concentrate into a critical mass sufficient for serious urban combat.  The Ukrainians have been aware of this tactical shift in the Russian approach since at least July, 2025; if not earlier.

But with a 1,300km battle trace to defend, the timely and expeditious movement and shifting of scarce manpower resources is at a premium.  And a conundrum for the Ukrainian high command. The Ukrainian force is not any where near as large compared to the Russians.  But the Ukrainian forces have become skilled and first class.  Prioritizing how and where to deploy this excellent tool has become the key task for General Syrskyi and his commanders. The Russians know this. Ergo their new tactical shift of infiltration, reconnaissance and sabotage.

I never had even a scintilla of doubt that once the Russians had committed their full or most of their forces to the Kupiansk campaign the Ukrainians will rise and meet the occasion. Last month(October 2025) I posted two diaries about the coming Ukrainian response on the Kupiansk front:

ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE is Setting Up to Cut Apart Another Russian Salient ... in Kupiansk

ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE's Tantalizing Bait ... the   Crucial Railway Hub at Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi

In this war, both sides are quickly adjusting to the other side’s tactical shifts.  For the Ukrainians, the template for how to respond to the sudden Russian advances in between the gaps was not the response at Dobropiliya, even though that seems to have been the headline grabber.

I contend that the Ukrainian tactical response to these situations was developed and honed at Chasiv Yar, where the Ukrainians have been wrestling the Russians in see-saw battles for that suburban community since immediately after the fall of Bakhmut in May, 2023. Well over two years ago. Chasiv Yar, just 6 miles, as the crow flies from Bakhmut, is still Ukraine.  Lest we forget Syrskyi was the senior commander at Bakhmut during that bruising and most sanguinary battle.  He learned a few things.