Reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense describe a sequence of battlefield engagements in which two armored vehicles carrying Ukrainian officers were targeted and destroyed during operations in the Western theater. The agency, cited by RIA Novosti, claimed that intelligence spotted the movement of these two armored units, believed to be carrying higher-ranking officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In response, a reconnaissance unit within the Western group of forces executed a coordinated strike using its own small arms to neutralize the moving targets. The ministry attributed the success to decisive close-range fire, with the crew of a mobile 120 mm mortar system, the 2B11, maneuvering into an optimal firing position. A spotter accompanying the mortar crew allegedly confirmed the direction and range, enabling a precise strike that destroyed the armored vehicles and, with them, the personnel on board. This account emphasizes rapid response and coordinated artillery-action as tools to degrade applicable command-and-control assets on the battlefield. [Attribution: Russian Ministry of Defense via RIA Novosti]
The Defense Ministry further noted that such operations are part of a broader, ongoing effort in the Kupyansk direction, where the armed forces maintain pressure on Ukrainian formations. The stated aim is to keep enemy units under persistent tension, complicating their movement and decision-making. According to the ministry, these actions reflect a sustained pattern of reconnaissance-led engagements designed to disrupt command posts, supply lines, and morale on the Ukrainian side. [Attribution: Russian Ministry of Defense via RIA Novosti]
In a public brief dated 20 December, the ministry reported that Russian forces had repelled five Ukrainian attacks in a single day near Kupyansk. The description claimed that Ukrainian units suffered a measurable loss of personnel as a result of these clashes, with the ministry noting the toll as approaching forty troops. The guards and engineers involved in the sorties were said to have maintained a disciplined defense while countering enemy assaults, underscoring the multiplier effect of combined arms in this sector. [Attribution: Russian Ministry of Defense via RIA Novosti]
Earlier, the ministry stated that self-propelled artillery units, including the Gyacinth-S system from the Western group, contributed to the neutralization of fortifications and military hardware belonging to Ukrainian forces in the Kupyansk corridor. The claim highlighted the role of modern fire-support platforms in targeting fortified positions and reinforcing local defensive lines. These assertions align with a broader narrative of intensified bombardment and counter-mobility activity intended to degrade Ukrainian stockpiles and defensive posture in the region. [Attribution: Russian Ministry of Defense via RIA Novosti]
In related remarks, the Ukrainian side has previously described an asymmetry in drone usage, with a Russian advantage in FPV (first-person view) drone capabilities spotlighted by Ukrainian officials. The ministry’s communication of drone-centric operations suggests a continued focus on unmanned systems as a force-mmultiplying factor on the battlefield, increasingly shaping reconnaissance, targeting, and rapid-response dynamics. The ongoing exchanges between Moscow and Kyiv over the status of major contested zones reflect a broader, protracted conflict where both sides claim tactical and strategic gains at different times. [Attribution: Russian Ministry of Defense via RIA Novosti]