Russia activated `fire storm` in Kupyansk, about to launch a major attack 0
(Dan Tri) – The Russian military may increase efforts to attack Kupyansk in Kharkov in the coming weeks.
Ukrainian soldiers at the front (Illustration photo: Skynews).
Russia began activating the `firestorm` in Kupyansk
Kyiv Post reported on January 5 that Russia has conducted large-scale, very concentrated and intense fire attacks with mortars, artillery and rockets in the Kharkov area in recent weeks with the goal of softening
Ukrainian Army Commander General Oleksandr Syrsky has warned that the enemy is carrying out planned assaults as part of the redeployment of forces in preparation for the impending attack on Liman.
Ukraine has spent months preparing defenses in the direction of Kupyansk, where only 26,000 local residents remain.
Since the beginning of the year, the number of shelling attacks on Kharkiv and neighboring cities has increased significantly.
According to a Telegraph report, the surface-to-air missiles have been reprogrammed to attack the ground and because of the speed at which the bullets travel over short distances, they are nearly impossible to intercept.
100,000 Russian troops are ready to attack Kupyansk
Ukrainska Pravda reported that military analysts from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that the Russian army has a quite strong and almost undamaged force, seemingly in good condition.
Ukrainian officials have said Moscow aims to capture Kupyansk and Borovaya (35km west of Svatovo) by winter 2024.
ISW reports that the capture of these towns would likely dislodge Ukrainian forces from the east bank of the Oskol River in the Kharkiv region and facilitate future Russian offensive operations along the Kupyansk – Svatovo line.
The pace of Russian operations in the Kupyansk direction and the apparent disposition of Moscow’s forces in the Lugansk and Kharkov regions in general do not indicate the approach of a large-scale Moscow offensive campaign along the entire front
Military analysts note that currently the Russian army has not accumulated enough forces in the Belgorod region to conduct large-scale offensive operations anywhere north or northeast of the Kharkiv region.
Ukrainian officials have not made public information about Russia’s sudden reinforcement of forces in the direction of Kupyansk.
Moscow appears to be gradually rebuilding units that suffered significant losses during Kiev’s counteroffensive campaign in September 2022 and Russia’s failed winter-spring offensive of 2023. The Russian command plans to use the
Ukrainian President Zelensky visits the front line in the Kharkov region (Photo: AP).
Moscow forces operating in the direction of Kupyansk – mainly consisting of the 1st Guards Tank Army and the 6th General Armed Forces (both of the Western Military District) – did not actively participate
Moscow’s regular troops in the Kupyansk direction are deployed mainly from the Western Military District and therefore have a certain organizational cohesion, unlike in other regions of Ukraine, which are often deployed from military districts
It remains unclear whether these Russian units are capable of conducting large-scale offensive operations that are significantly more effective than those around Avdiivka.
British newspaper The Telegraph on January 4 quoted an anonymous source `close` to the Ukrainian military as saying that Russian troops could launch a `ground attack` as early as January 15.
Representative of the Ukrainian Army Command – Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Fityo – responded to the Telegraph on January 5, saying that the Ukrainian army did not record changes in the composition of enemy forces in the Kharkov area or on Russian territory.
Governor of the Kharkov region Oleg Sinegubov also responded to the Telegraph, noting that Russian troops were not concentrated in the Kharkov region in preparation for a large-scale offensive and that the intensity of enemy attacks in the Kupyansk direction had been
Mr. Sinegubov noted that the Russian military is taking advantage of the slow pace of operations due to bad weather conditions to dispatch reinforcements to the front lines as well as train and coordinate units.
The comments of two officials, Fityo and Sinegubov, are consistent with ISW’s assessment that Russian forces may increase offensive operations, but do not launch a comprehensive offensive campaign with existing forces in the direction of Kupyansk.
Moscow may be undertaking a gradual build-up, as Ukrainian officials reported that as of October 2023, the Russian military had concentrated more than 100,000 troops in the direction of Kupyansk and Liman.
