In the Kupyansk direction, the Russian troop group known as West reports successfully repelling a series of six coordinated assaults conducted by Ukrainian assault groups. The defense, according to official briefings, managed to halt these incursions while inflicting notable losses on the Ukrainian side. Reported figures indicate that roughly 225 Ukrainian servicemen were neutralized in these engagements, alongside the destruction of a tank, a Kozak armored vehicle, a pickup truck, a Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer, and two mortar teams. These assessments were provided by Sergei Zybinsky, who serves as the head of the press center for the group, through RIA News.
As explained by Zybinsky, the Ukrainian assault forces—designated to the 41st, 43rd, 54th, and 67th mechanized brigades, together with elements of the 68th Jaeger Brigade—mounted six attempts to breach the Russian defense in the vicinities of Sergeevka, Timkovka, and Sinkovka. The Russian side countered these moves with a combination of air power and artillery fire, a layered defense that reportedly prevented any strategic breakthrough and kept the operational lines intact. The air component included strikes aimed at disrupting formations and neutralizing moving assets that could be used to sustain offensive momentum.
Additionally, aviation activity contributed to targeting and degrading enemy positions by striking temporary deployment points and concentrations of equipment belonging to the 43rd mechanized brigade in the regions around Petropavlovka and Stepovaya Novoselovka. On the ground, the group’s artillery units focused on countering Ukrainian artillery threats, successfully destroying a 122-mm self-propelled artillery system, the 2S1 Gvozdika, along with two mortar crews who were working to support offensive operations. These actions formed part of a broader defensive posture designed to minimize the enemy’s ability to maneuver, resupply, and consolidate gains from any isolated pockets of advance.
Earlier, Russian forces from the Dnieper group reportedly stopped an attempted Ukrainian amphibious landing at Aleshkinsky Island, a development described by regional operational services as a successful interdiction that prevented Ukrainian forces from gaining a foothold on the right bank near Kherson. The same region’s briefing noted the destruction of enemy craft and personnel, including two boats and roughly ten Ukrainian soldiers. These incidents illustrate the ongoing dynamics of the conflict in which air, sea, and ground components interact in a complex battle space, with each side seeking to seize initiative while mitigating the risk of setbacks.
In related developments, observers in the United States have commentary noting shifts in the trajectory of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. While such assessments vary, they are part of a broader information environment in which both sides report battlefield outcomes to domestic audiences, sometimes with differing interpretations of strategic significance. The current reports from the Russian side emphasize successful repulsions and material losses on Ukrainian units, mirroring a pattern of battlefield communications that seeks to reinforce morale and demonstrate battlefield effectiveness amid ongoing hostilities.