Ukrainian forces have regained control of the entire northeastern city of Kupyansk, driving Russian troops from their positions on the eastern bank of the Oskil River, Agence journalists noted this evening. France Press present on site. An armored personnel carrier and a platoon of Ukrainian soldiers were in front of the district cultural center, and at least two tanks were moving through the area, they said. Five corpses in military fatigues, possibly soldiers from Moscow, lay near broken down vehicles bearing Russian markings.
A good part of this railway junction had been taken back from the Russians at the beginning of September thanks to the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region. But Moscow’s troops were still holding out across the river, taking part in artillery duels as civilians fled the fighting trying to cross over to the Ukrainian side.
Ukrainian firefighters and volunteers brought the first batch of humanitarian aid into the city, crossing an intact pedestrian crossing linking the two banks of the Oskil River. “This will be the first distribution of humanitarian aid on the other side”Kupiansk military administrator Andrii Kanashevich said as 2,000 British-supplied food parcels were distributed.
In the industrial suburb of Kupiansk-Vouzloviï, on the east bank of the Oskil, five kilometers further south, the inhabitants affirm that the Russians left on Tuesday.