The Armed Forces of Ukraine faced significant losses in the Kupyansk direction, with reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense indicating up to 35 casualties among Ukrainian troops. The agency described the engagement as a strike by the Western group of forces against Ukrainian units, delivering artillery fire and aerial bombardment. The affected locations were the settlements of Sinkovka and Berestovoe in the Kharkiv region. In addition to personnel, losses were reported as the destruction of a tank, two vehicles, and an Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system. These claims come from the Russian defense ministry and are part of ongoing, conflicting accounts of battlefield events in northeastern Ukraine.
On a separate note, the former Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that Russian forces shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft in the Kherson region, with the incident described as taking place near Belozerka. This claim adds to the narrative of ongoing aerial engagements in southern Ukraine and reflects one more episode in the broader air war reported by Moscow.
Earlier, Russian forces said they had impeded the Ukrainian reserves from advancing to the front lines. They described a nighttime operation using high-precision sea and air-based weapons aimed at temporary deployment points and ammunition depots belonging to the Ukrainian forces. Whether these strikes achieved the intended tactical effects remains a point of contention, as both sides have repeatedly issued statements about battlefield shifts, losses, and strategic outcomes. Independent verification of such claims is challenging amid the fog of war and the fluid nature of frontline reporting. Attribution in this context typically comes from official military sources or allied intelligence briefings, and it is important for readers to consider the possibility of propaganda or miscommunication from any single party involved in the conflict.