Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Kupiansk city in northern Kharkiv region on Friday amid Russian claims about the capture of the city.
Zelenskiy praised the troops defending the city, while a Ukrainian commander said Russian troops in the city had been completely surrounded.
“Today, we can say that the Russians in the city are completely cut off. For a long time, they couldn’t understand what was happening. But now they know they are surrounded,” said Ihor Obolienskyi, head of the Khartiia Corps of the National Guard.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had claimed the city was under control of the Russian army. “Our guys, so to speak, were finishing mopping up isolated neighbourhoods and streets. The city’s future had already been determined at that point,” Putin told his National Security Council on November 4.
Oleksandr Syrskii, the Ukrainian commander-in-chief, described Russian claims about the capture of Kupiansk as disinformation. “The volume of Russian lies far exceeds the actual pace of Russian troop advances, “The enemy uses disinformation and fake maps in a hybrid war against Ukraine,” Syrskii said in a Telegram messaging app.
Russia intensified its offensive on Kupiansk in summer 2025, entering the city with small assault group. The capture of the city would enable Russian troops seize the Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi village, which is a strategic logistics hub on the bank of Oskil River. Ukrainian military has claimed killing 1,000 Russian troops in the city since September, with 200 Russian servicemen still reportedly remaining in Kupiansk. Ukrainian forces have reportedly made gains in recent days, reclaiming parts of the town, particularly in the northwestern and northern districts, and encircling remaining Russian troops. Kyiv’s military says many Russian soldiers are cut off from supply routes and surrounded.
