Putin Was Again Told About The Capture Of Kupyansk
- 17.12.2025, 16:39
Despite Zelensky's visit to the city.
Russia's Defense Ministry has again reported to Putin on the capture of Kupyansk in Kharkiv Region, despite a recent visit to the town by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. During a speech at an enlarged meeting of the Defense Ministry board, the head of the ministry Andrey Belousov said that the settlement was occupied by the "West" group, and the AFU, according to Belousov, is "unsuccessfully trying to return" it to its control, writes The Moscow Times.
"Supply routes for AFU units passed through it (Kupyansk. - note). This (Capture of the city. - note) will make it possible to expand the security lanes in Kharkiv region and reduce the threat of enemy shelling of the northern districts of the LNR," Belousov said (his words are quoted by the press service of the defense ministry in its Telegram channel). He also said that Russian troops were destroying the "encircled group of the AFU" on the left bank of the Oskol River east of Kupyansk.
In the course of the same speech, the defense minister said the "inevitable collapse of the AFU defense", noting that "Kiev's Western handlers" also understand this. Belousov also cited data on the Russian army's advance, claiming that more than 300 settlements and over 6,000 square kilometers of territory have been taken under control this year, which, he said, exceeds last year's figures by a third. The pace of advance of the "East," "Center" and "West" groups, according to the minister, has increased by one and a half to two times compared to 2024.
This is not the first statement by the Russian military command about the capture of Kupyansk. On Nov. 20, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to Vladimir Putin about the capture of the city. At that time, he also reported that Russian troops were advancing "practically in all directions." Putin responded by saying that, according to reports he had, 15 AFU battalions had been "blocked near the Kupyansk-Uzlovaya station." The Ukrainian side did not confirm these reports, and the next day a number of Russian Z-bloggers accused Gerasimov of presenting Putin with an inaccurate report on the situation in the city.