Russian troops reportedly advanced near Kreminna amid continued positional fighting along the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line on December 27, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

  • In this direction, Russians aimed to occupy the rest of Luhansk Oblast and advance into the eastern part of Kharkiv and northern Donetsk regions.

ISW quotes Russian milbloggers to claim that Russian forces advanced southeast of Yampolivka (west of Kreminna) and up to three kilometers in unspecified parts of the Serebryanske forest area (southwest of Kreminna). However, ISW has not observed visual confirmation of these claims.

Map of hostilities in eastern Ukraine / Source: ISW

Ukrainian and Russian sources claimed that positional fighting occurred northeast and southeast of Kupiansk near Synkivka, Petropavlivka, and Ivanivka and west and southwest of Kreminna near Dibrova and the Serebryanske forest area.

Read the story: Kremlin likely aimed to occupy Avdiivka and Kupiansk before elections in March 2024 – ISW.

The Kremlin may be using Putin’s military-focused announcement to convince this large group of voters that the Russian military supports Putin. Putin’s announcement may alternatively aim to demonstrate that he has the support of the Russian military to make any further discussion of the war in Ukraine during his campaign unnecessary.

Russian authorities tasked its military with capturing Avdiivka, and possibly Kupiansk, before the March 2024 elections, and this exhibition of the military’s support for Putin’s candidacy is perhaps meant as a hedging strategy should the Russian military be unable to meet these given deadlines.

Kupiansk, a town in eastern Kharkiv Oblast with a pre-war population of about 30,000 people, was occupied from late February till September 2022. The city is a railway and road hub between Kharkiv and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine.

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Constant missile attacks and deserted streets: how Kupiansk lives on the front line. It is 10-15 km / 6–9 miles from the front line and 40 km / 25 miles from the border with Russia. The city was severely damaged at the beginning of the full-scale invasion and during the battle for its liberation in September 2022.