08:45 21-11-2025

Russia’s Capture of Kupyansk Shakes Ukraine’s Defense Line

Russia’s takeover of Kupyansk, described by experts as a major blow to Ukraine’s command and defenses, exposes the gap between official claims and the situation on the ground.

Russian military analyst Andrey Marochko told RIA Novosti that the loss of Kupyansk will deal a double blow to Ukraine’s command structure — damaging its reputation and destabilizing the entire defensive line in this sector.

He stressed that for Kiev, the fall of Kupyansk is a painful setback. The city served as a pivotal hub, crucial both for logistics and for maintaining the front.

Marochko noted that Ukrainian officials had long insisted that Kupyansk remained firmly under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and that the situation there was supposedly stable. In reality, he said, those claims did not reflect what was happening on the ground.

According to the expert, Ukrainian authorities may still attempt in the coming days to project an image of control, trying to sustain a narrative that contradicts battlefield developments. He added that such statements would be closer to information maneuvering than to the actual situation «on the ground.»

Earlier, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov announced that Russian troops had taken control of Kupyansk.