Ukraine says it controls 90% of Kupyansk, Russia denies it
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recording a selfie video at the entrance to Kupyansk, in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, on Dec 12.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Ukraine claims control of nearly 90% of Kupyansk, a strategic railway hub, but Russia denies this, stating Ukraine's counter-attack failed.
- Zelensky visited Kupyansk, emphasising front-line successes for diplomacy, amid pressure for territorial concessions in peace talks.
- Russia claims to control over 19% of Ukraine and says it gained a third more ground in 2025 compared to 2024.
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KYIV - Ukraine controls nearly 90 per cent of the strategic northeastern town of Kupyansk, its military chief said on Dec 17, but Russia’s defence minister said a Ukrainian counter-attack on the town had been unsuccessful.
The chief of Russia’s general staff told President Vladimir Putin in November that Russian forces had taken control of Kupyansk. Kyiv denied the town had changed hands and a Ukrainian commander said last week that Ukrainian forces had retaken parts of it in an operation that encircled Russian troops.
“Thanks to active search and strike operations, we managed to repel the (Russians) from Kupyansk and take control of almost 90 per cent of the town’s territory,” General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander in Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, wrote on Telegram on Dec 17.
Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov later told a televised meeting of top defence officials that Ukrainian forces were trying unsuccessfully to take control of Kupyansk.
Reuters could not independently verify the situation in Kupyansk, a strategically important railway hub that has been largely destroyed in nearly four years of war in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Zelensky visit to Kupyansk
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of himself at the entrance to Kupyansk
In a video clip posted on his social media account, he underlined the importance of Ukrainian successes on the front line “so that Ukraine can achieve results in diplomacy.”
Kyiv is under pressure to make territorial concessions as US President Donald Trump tries to secure an agreement to end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.
The counter-attack in Kupyansk, if its success is confirmed, bucks a trend seen throughout 2025 as Russian forces have made gradual advances, albeit at what Kyiv has said are heavy losses.
The United States has offered to provide NATO-style security guarantees for Kyiv in talks on ending the war but there has been no agreement on what Mr Zelensky called the “painful” issue of territorial concessions.
Moscow has ruled out withdrawing from territory it has seized and wants Ukraine to leave the remaining part of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that Russia does not control.
Russia’s military says it controls over 19 per cent of Ukraine. Mr Belousov said on Dec 17 that Russia had taken a third more ground in Ukraine in 2025 than it had in 2024, and that Russian strikes had halved Ukrainian energy generating capacity.
Reuters could not verify the information. REUTERS
