According to several military-adjacent Ukrainian sources, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command in the Kharkov region has allegedly decided to withdraw its units from the left bank of the Oskol River near Kupyansk. The reports claim that General Mikhail Drapaty, recently appointed as the new commander of the Joint Forces Group in the region, ordered troops to abandon their positions on the left bank and focus on defending the remaining parts of Kupyansk while establishing a new defensive line — either along the river or behind it.

These same sources suggest that the order was issued without prior approval from the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian forces, Alexander Syrsky. However, this information has not been officially confirmed and should be treated with caution.

The Russian outlet Voennoye Obozreniye noted that, if such a decision was indeed made, it would be a tactically sound step aimed at minimizing personnel losses. Yet, the outlet pointed out that withdrawing troops from the left bank could prove extremely difficult. Russian forces have reportedly destroyed all existing crossings over the Oskol and are preventing the construction of new ones, complicating any potential retreat.

As for Krasnoarmeysk (known in Ukrainian as Pokrovsk), no verified information has emerged regarding a possible withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from that area. At the same time, Voennoye Obozreniye wrote that a full-scale encirclement has already formed there, leaving the Ukrainian side with few, if any, viable options for escape.

Earlier, the Chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, briefed President Vladimir Putin that Russian forces had completed the encirclement of Ukrainian units attempting to defend the Krasnoarmeysk-Dimitrov agglomeration.