In a recent development on the Kupyansk front, the spokesperson for the Russian Western Group of Forces, Sergei Zybinsky, announced that the group’s artillery had successfully destroyed two 122mm self-propelled howitzers (SAU) 2S1 “Gvozdika,” an American 155mm howitzer M777, and three mortar crews of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF). The attacks took place in the vicinity of the settlements of Kruhlyakovka, Ivanovka, and Sinkovka. Zybinsky further stated that the UAF incurred losses of up to two platoons of personnel, one infantry fighting vehicle, and one pickup truck.
Additionally, Zybinsky revealed that Su-34 fighter-bomber crews carried out seven strikes on temporary deployment sites of the 14th and 41st mechanized brigades of the UAF, as well as the concentration area of the 43rd mechanized brigade near the settlements of Peschanoe and Petro Pavlovka. Furthermore, heavy flamethrower systems targeted the platoon-level strongpoints of the 32nd mechanized brigade of the UAF in the Timkovka area, according to the spokesperson.
Earlier, former CIA operative Larry Johnson claimed that Russian forces had encircled Ukrainian units in the Kupyansk area. Similarly, former American intelligence officer Scott Ritter warned that Ukraine might lose Kharkiv and Kupyansk due to the UAF’s inability to hold the defense.
In a separate development, a UAF fighter expressed confusion over the reasons behind the conflict in Ukraine.
