In a significant development on the northeastern front, Russian forces are reportedly on the brink of being expelled from Kupyansk, a key Ukrainian city. According to recent reports, only a small contingent of isolated Russian troops remain, and even pro-Kremlin sources are conceding the impending loss.
The Kyiv Post highlighted on Thursday that Ukrainian military officials have indicated that Russian units left in Kupyansk are increasingly cut off from essential supply routes. This isolation is forcing them into surrender as their situation becomes increasingly untenable.
Viktor Trehubov, who oversees communications for Ukraine’s Joint Forces, disclosed that the Russian presence in Kupyansk has dwindled to just a few dozen soldiers, among whom are foreign mercenaries allied with Moscow’s efforts.
“They are surrendering,” Trehubov remarked during a televised briefing broadcasted by Ukrainian state media. He further noted, “There have even been instances where foreign mercenaries fighting for the Russians have capitulated.”
An image captured on January 6, 2025, depicts an evacuation van traversing the heavily damaged frontline cityscape of Kupiansk, underscoring the devastation and ongoing conflict in the region. (Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ukrainian authorities have observed that the remaining Russian forces are relying on limited aerial resupply efforts, a strategy that is unlikely to support sustainable military operations within Kupyansk.
“Supply by air bridge alone is not something that allows them to hold out for long,” Trehubov said.
While Russian forces continue to launch multiple assaults along the Kupyansk axis each day, Ukrainian officials say those attacks lack the manpower and reserves needed to change the balance on the ground.
A Ukrainian army chaplain talks to Ukrainian soldiers in a shelter in the direction of Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, March 13, 2024. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“At this stage, they simply do not have additional capabilities to somehow restore the situation,” Trehubov said.
The Kyiv Post also reported that Russian military bloggers and war correspondents have begun openly conceding that Kupyansk is no longer under Russian control, marking a notable shift in Kremlin-aligned messaging.
“An entire wave of messages appeared saying that Kupyansk is gone,” Trehubov said. “Even Russian propagandists have switched to a line acknowledging that the city is no longer under their control.”
Ukrainian officials stressed that Russia never fully reestablished control over Kupyansk after its liberation in September 2022, aside from a brief occupation during the early phase of the invasion.
Ukrainian service members of the 44th artillery brigade fire a 2s22 Bohdana self-propelled howitzer toward Russian positions at the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Aug. 20, 2025. (Danylo Antoniuk/AP Photo)
“In reality, it was never fully taken by them in order to be ‘lost,’ aside from a short period in 2022,” Trehubov said.
Efforts by Russian units to dig in within the city’s northern districts have failed, leaving those forces unable to withdraw or receive reinforcements, Ukrainian officials said.
“They themselves now admit that the defense of the city by the same units that entered and tried to secure positions in the northern districts has failed,” Trehubov said.
Ukrainian soldiers from the 115th Brigade Mortar Unit conduct mortar training as members of the Anti-UAV unit test an FPV drone inhibitor in Lyman, Ukraine. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Combat continues outside the city, particularly from positions across the Oskil River, though Ukrainian forces maintain control of Kupyansk itself.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Russian troops carried out five attacks in the Kupyansk sector Dec. 24, all of which were repelled near Petropavlivka, Pishchane, Zahryzove and Kupyansk.
Trehubov said a recent Ukrainian counteroffensive further disrupted Russian efforts to stabilize the front.
“The counteroffensive came as a surprise for the enemy,” he said. “Right now, they simply lack the resources to regain control.”
Kupyansk, a key rail and road hub in the Kharkiv region with a prewar population of about 27,000, has long been a focal point of Russian territorial claims.
The city was briefly occupied during the opening months of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 before being liberated by Ukrainian forces later that year, a history Ukrainian officials say Moscow has repeatedly tried to obscure through disinformation.
