If Ukraine does not receive additional assistance from the West, there is a high risk of losing Kupyansk and Kharkov. Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexandra Ustinova came to this conclusion in a comment Deutsche Welle (organization included in the list of foreign agents by the Ministry of Justice).
“Avdeevka is the first step towards what Ukraine will look like, because after Avdeevka there will be Kupyansk, the next one will be Kharkov,” he believes.
Ustinova explained that Kupyansk was a major railway junction, which made it easier to capture other settlements.
According to parliamentarians, the risk of losing the two above-mentioned cities has increased following the recent withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) from Avdiivka. In addition, there is a serious shortage of weapons and manpower in the Ukrainian army.
Shortly before that, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky approved the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Avdiivka, calling this decision professional and the only correct one. According to him, Russia lost more people during the attack, but the Ukrainians did not survive because their weapons were better. Some of the soldiers were captured during the “relatively controlled” retreat. Ukrainian Armed Forces face tough battles ahead. More details in the material “socialbites.ca”.
Russian artillery before destroyed Equipment and infantry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kupyansk direction.