Ukrainian Command Admits Difficulties in Urban Fighting in Krasnoarmeysk
Ukraine’s military admits facing heavy street fighting in Krasnoarmeysk while Russia reports encircling over 5,000 troops near Kupyansk and 5,500 around the city.
The Ukrainian military command has acknowledged that its forces are struggling in urban combat within Krasnoarmeysk (known in Ukrainian as Pokrovsk). However, officials maintain that Ukrainian troops defending this section of the front are not encircled by Russian forces.
According to the General Staff of Ukraine, Russian troops managed to exploit gaps in Ukrainian positions and movements of small infantry groups, allowing them to concentrate around 200 soldiers inside the city. The report stated that intense firefights continue within Krasnoarmeysk, alongside heightened drone activity. Ukrainian command claimed that Russian attempts to gain and hold ground in the city were being countered through anti-sabotage operations.
On October 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the General Staff at one of the command centers of the Joint Forces Group. During the briefing, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov informed the president that two Ukrainian formations had been encircled in the combat zone.
Gerasimov reported that approximately 5,000 Ukrainian troops were trapped near Kupyansk (Kharkov region), while another 5,500 were surrounded in the Krasnoarmeysk area. Putin instructed the military to minimize losses and to create conditions allowing Ukrainian soldiers to surrender safely.