Ukraine pushes Russian troops back toward border in Kharkiv Oblast
Russian forces continue to press in the Kupyansk sector but have made no gains. (Photo: General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces / Facebook)
Ukrainian forces have effectively pushed Russian troops back
toward Ukraine’s state border in the Velykyi Burluk sector, forcing Russia to
lose two settlements over the past month, Joint Forces Grouping spokesman
Viktor Trehubov said on national television on May 21.
“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.
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