Ukraine pushes Russian troops back toward border in Kharkiv Oblast

“The Velykyi Burluk sector has returned to roughly where things stood about a year ago,” he said.

In the Kupyansk sector, Russian forces continue to press on the eastern bank and are trying to infiltrate north of the city, but have made no gains.

Trehubov said several Russian troops remain inside the city itself, including those who entered through a sewer pipe about a month ago.

Fighting continues in the Lyman sector, with the heaviest activity near Borova, north of Lyman. Trehubov added that Russia is overstating its gains: “Russian forces there have wildly exaggerated their own successes.”

In the Vovchansk sector and along the border area of Sumy Oblast, Russian forces continue to apply pressure, though no longer at their previous pace.

“They are no longer moving forward and are simply trying to entrench themselves in the border area where they are now,” the spokesman said.

Fighting in Kharkiv Oblast

On May 21, Vadym Karpiak, spokesman for the 8th Corps of Ukraine’s Air Assault Forces, said Russia’s immediate objective is to capture one of the major regional cities, including Sumy or Kharkiv.

On May 17, ISW rejected Valery Gerasimov’s claims that Russia had “captured” Kupyansk, saying Russian commanders have baselessly claimed for a fifth consecutive month that they are advancing west of the city, which Russian forces have not actually captured.

On May 15, units of the 129th Brigade of Ukraine’s Armed Forces liberated the village of Odradne and its outskirts in the Kupyansk district. On May 14, Trehubov said Russian effectiveness in the Kupyansk sector was declining despite their attempts to pressure the city.