UKRAINE, KUPIANSK DISTRICT, Apr. 27 — Russian troops renewed assaults on both banks of the Oskil river, reported Viktor Trekhubov, a spokesperson for the group of forces responsible for Kharkiv oblast on the national TV channel. 

On Apr. 23, Trekhubov reported that Russian troops had moved “slightly” closer to Kupiansk. Back then, he added that, though the Russian Defense Ministry’s claims about Kupiansk being controlled by Ukrainian troops is a “drug-fueled delirium,” Russians very much want it to be true. “They are just giving voice to their desires for the next months,” Trehubov said. 

Trekhubov said that Russians have been preparing for the spring campaign: conducting rotations, preparing for mass infiltration (of Kupiansk — ed.), waiting for the green tree cover to appear. 

On the right bank of the Oskil river, Trekhubov explained, Russians renewed the attempts to infiltrate the city through Holubivka village, north of Kupiansk, including through gas pipes. Ukraine “more or less” is managing to stop them, he added. 

The state of frontline near Kupiansk, with Holubivka village Russians are trying to use to infiltrate the city marked in red
The state of the front line near Kupiansk, with Holubivka village that Russians are trying to use to infiltrate the city marked in red / Source: DeepStateMap from Apr. 26, 2026

On the east bank of the river, things are “more complicated,” Trekhubov said. Russians have reserves they “actively use,” and they attack Ukrainian logistics. 

“Each time, accounting for a lengthy ‘kill zone’ — a stretch of 20 km (~12 miles) from both sides — you have to (plan each logistic run) as a separate operation: how you will be supplying (positions), how soldiers would be transported to positions, how you would evacuate the injured,” Trekhubov said. 

Last year, Russians managed to infiltrate Kupiansk in the summer of 2025. By the start of the autumn, the situation in the city had become complicated. Ukraine had to organize a special operation to push Moscow’s troops out of the city — it’s reported to have ended in success, with Russian troops killed or trapped in the northern part of the city. 

⚡ The fifth year of the Russian full-scale invasion started, so it’s been four years since most of us here at our Kharkiv-based newsroom became war reporters. Please consider supporting our journalism via a one-time donation— or join our community.

Read more