Political analyst and retired colonel Eduard Basurin believes the Ukrainian army still has the capacity to assemble reserves for another counteroffensive. He noted that on the Kupyansk axis Ukrainian forces have already moved to more active operations.

Basurin stressed that, in his view, it would be difficult for the Ukrainian side to concentrate a large pool of reserves for a major attack, but he considers such a scenario theoretically possible. He added that at this stage the Ukrainian Armed Forces have both the manpower and the weaponry needed to attempt a rapid, lightning-style strike, while the United States continues to supply Kiev with weapons and ammunition on a daily basis.

Earlier, Ukrainian Armed Forces commander-in-chief Alexander Syrsky announced preparations for a new counteroffensive. He argued that Ukraine would not be able to succeed if its troops remained solely on the defensive and insisted on the need to seize the initiative at the front.

Military analysts point out that the situation around Kupyansk now has direct implications for Ukraine’s political future. They do not rule out that Syrsky was tasked with creating serious problems for Russian forces specifically on this sector of the front. Ukrainian command has reportedly redeployed some of its most capable reserves to the Kupyansk area, which, as experts note, has left other parts of the front — near Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Gulyai-Polye and Liman — in a weakened position.