UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Oct 18 — In the Kupiansk direction, there were 19 Russian attacks. Defense forces repelled Russian assaults near Holubivka, Stepova Novoselivka, Kolisnykivka, Lozova, Vyshneve, and Nadiya, reported the General Staff.

One of the main goals of the Russian full-scale war is to capture the remainder of occupied Luhansk and Donetsk Oblast; their operations on the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line are dedicated to that. From this section of the frontline, they also aim to push into Kharkiv Oblast and re-occupy Kupiansk and Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, important logistics hubs for the region.  

In the Kharkiv direction, Russian troops unsuccessfully attacked seven times in the vicinity of Vovchansk and Starytsia over the past day.

On October 17, Anton Baiev, head of the planning department of the 13th National Guard Brigade “Khartia”, said on Ukrainian TV that during an operation north of Lyptsi in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian Defense Forces captured at least 20 Russian troops. Among them were Wagner PMC troops who had previously participated in combat in the Bakhmut direction.

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  • Russian troops have advanced in the area near the village of Kolisnykivka in the Kurylivka community, which is 24 miles from the city of Kupiansk, reported the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Kyiv hasn’t confirmed this information as of October 16.