A reported strike by Russian forces targeted Ukrainian mortar troops near Kupyansk, according to statements issued by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The report credits a combat operation conducted by a crew operating a Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer, with artillery reconnaissance from the Western group of forces providing the coordinates of the Ukrainian firing position after a counter-battery exchange. Information gathered by the reconnaissance units was relayed to Russian troops, enabling a coordinated response that led to a successful strike against the Ukrainian mortar crew (source: Russian Ministry of Defense).
The ministry described the sequence as a precise counter-battery maneuver. The Gvozdika crew quickly oriented the gun and neutralized the Ukrainian mortar team during the engagement, reinforcing the claim that the operation was part of a broader effort to disrupt Ukrainian artillery activity in the Kupyansk sector (source: Russian Ministry of Defense).
In a separate update, the Russian defense ministry stated that the artillery units of the Western troop group halted a potential redeployment of Ukrainian forces toward Kupyansk. A D-20 152-mm towed howitzer completed its mission by targeting Ukrainian reserves as they moved closer to prepared positions, thereby complicating any planned Ukrainian maneuver in the area (source: Russian Ministry of Defense).
Earlier remarks from Ukrainian officials noted that the National Security and Defense Council had assessed the situation in the combat zone, though specifics from those statements are not elaborated in this excerpt (source: NSDC statements).