2024-10-09 00:06:54
Ukraine has just lost Wuhledar, now the next strategically important city is in danger. But the defensive line still holds.
After making little progress at times, the Russian army is currently on the advance again in front of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine. Most recently, Putin’s troops captured the strategically important city of Vuhledar in the Donetsk region. Now the Russians are apparently advancing on the next city in the northeast of the country: Kupyansk.
The Ukrainian army has been holding out against Russian soldiers around the city since their counteroffensive in autumn 2022. The main defense line runs there in front of the city of Kharkiv, which is around 80 kilometers away and has a population of 1.5 million. Kupyansk is divided by the Oskil River, which serves as a natural barrier for the Ukrainian military against Russian attackers.
But now the Russian military has set its sights on the city. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the armed forces have been increasingly attacking the area in recent weeks. They approach the city from several sides. However, there have been no changes on the front line in this area in the past few days.
According to Ukraine’s situation report, the Russians carried out five attacks on Thursday, but initially without gaining any further territory. Furthermore, there is little information from Kyiv about the situation near Kupyansk.
However, the Russian army has intensified its attacks on Kupyansk since the beginning of the year. “Russian forces may increase their efforts to capture Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region in the coming weeks,” the ISW wrote back in January.
So far, the Ukrainian defense has held up. Coming from the north, the Russian army has apparently already approached Kupyansk. According to Russian military bloggers, the tanks are now only a few kilometers away from the city center.
“Russia is asserting itself slowly and with great losses at Kupyansk, Pokrovsk and Vuhledar. Ukraine is threatened with losing strategic milestones,” writes Nico Lange, an expert in security policy, on X. However, major Russian breakthroughs are not to be expected for the time being.
Russian military bloggers are also reporting massive attacks by the Russian air force on the region. They are said to have dropped FAB-500 glide bombs and ODAB-1500 aerosol bombs. Aerosol bombs are particularly effective against fortified targets because the fuel can also penetrate bunkers.
Similar to Wuhledar, Kupyansk also has strategic importance. The city is an important railway hub in northeastern Ukraine. The Kharkiv – Horlivka railway line runs there, which is currently largely out of service due to the fighting. However, it could be activated again if the front shifts. This also applies to the M03 trunk road. A national road also runs from there to just before Kharkiv.
Before the war, Kupyansk had a population of around 30,000. The city has now been almost completely destroyed and only a few people still live there. Ukraine successfully pushed Russia back in this region in 2022 and triumphed in the so-called “Battle of Kharkiv”. Now Russia could strike back.