UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, June 19 — The Kupiansk direction is more important to the Russian army now than the north, said Oleh Syniehubov, Kharkiv Oblast Governor, in an interview with Ukrinform on June 18.

The Ukrainian military has stabilized the frontline north and northeast of the Kharkiv region, where Russia launched a new ground offensive in May. Currently, heavy fighting is ongoing in and around Vovchansk and on the Lyptsi axis.   

“When it became clear that there [in the north] was no progress, Putin said that Kharkiv was not actually the target of this new phase of aggression. The situation in the Kupiansk direction is extremely difficult. However, it is fully under the control of our Armed Forces,” said the governor.

Syniehubov added that the focus of the Russian army’s attacks in the Kupiansk direction has not changed. Combat is ongoing near Synkivka, Ivanivka, and Petropavlivka.

Syniehubov said that the Russian army continues to destroy civilian infrastructure and crossings of the Oskil River in the Kupiansk district to make life as difficult as possible for the population. Local authorities, he said, are focused on restoring critical infrastructure in the area.

The governor also noted that the Russian army is not advancing on the Kupiansk axis. However, there may be an expansion of the “gray zone,” the areas of active hostilities where Russia is deploying reserves.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that in the Kupiansk direction, Russian troops are conducting offensives, trying to break through the defense of the Ukrainian army, and capture essential areas or settlements that impact the strength of the Ukrainian defense.

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