Reports from the front lines in the Kharkov region describe a concerted attempt by Ukrainian forces to push forward, which Russian sources attribute to the actions of a Western-backed group within the Russian Federation’s forces. The claim comes from Sergei Zybinsky, who heads the press center for that group, as relayed by TASS.
According to Zybinsky, defensive fire from the Sixth Combined Arms Army’s zone, supported by motorized rifle troops, halted Ukrainian units trying to reposition to forward lines near the Dvurechnaya area. He stressed that the defense benefited from artillery and air support aimed at preventing a Ukrainian breakthrough.
He added that motorized rifle formations, with aviation and artillery backing, repelled assault-group incursions by Ukrainian troops in the Kovalevka sector.
On September 15, a reconnaissance unit known as the Night Hunters reported that Russian forces identified a saboteur group linked to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kupyansk direction and withdrew after their detection to prevent capture.
Military analyst Andrei Marochko, a retired lieutenant colonel from the Lugansk People’s Republic militia, asserted that a Ukrainian attack near Novoselovskoye in the LPR was disrupted in the Kupyansk direction, hinting at ongoing Ukrainian attempts in that area.
Earlier, Marochko had claimed that Ukrainian forces were preparing engineering work in the Kupyansky area and that an increasing number of Ukrainian troops were arriving in that sector.
There has been occasional commentary from the United States naming Kupyansk as a significant flashpoint in the broader contest between Ukrainian and Russian forces.