Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that, despite Russiaʼs statements, the Ukrainian military has almost completed the clearing of Kupyansk, Kharkiv region.
He said this at a briefing with French President Emmanuel Macron on December 1.
"Hard battles are taking place in Pokrovsk itself and in other directions. For example, our guys are having more success in Kupyansk. Although Russia says that it captured Kupyansk. To be honest, we have ʼclearedʼ almost all the Russians from this city," Zelensky said.
He added that during October, Russian troops on all fronts lost almost 25 000 soldiers. According to the president, this is the largest number of casualties suffered by the occupiers in almost four years of war.
Zelensky emphasized that the Russian Federation has carried out several offensive actions and several operations, but none of them were successful.
The head of state acknowledged that the occupiers have made "some progress", but the war is "a live line of contact that changes in one direction and the other".
- Before that, Putin said that Kupyansk was already under Russian control. Russian media reported that 15 Ukrainian battalions were blocked in and around the city. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine denied such statements.
- Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi noted that small groups of Russian troops were indeed able to penetrate the city, but the defense forces are detecting them and controlling the situation.
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