“Kupyansk, 30,000 (before the war) city in Kharkiv region, today it has turned into one of the hottest points on the map, constantly appearing in front-line reports and news. For almost a year of intense battles, Russian troops have made considerable efforts to occupy and destroy this settlement. However, the information field around events in the city is extremely controversial. On the one hand, analytical”, – WRITE ON: ua.news
Kupyansk, 30,000 (before the war) city in Kharkiv region, today it has turned into one of the hottest points on the map, constantly appearing in front-line reports and news. For almost a year of intense battles, Russian troops have made considerable efforts to occupy and destroy this settlement. However, the information field around events in the city is extremely controversial.
On the one hand, analytical projects, such as Deepstate, report the promotion of the enemy and its approach to the city center, claiming that the fighting has long been in the city development. On the other hand, official Ukrainian sources, including the General Staff of the Armed Forces and Head of Kupyansk MVA Andriy Beshydin, refute these statements, stating that the city is under the control of defense forces.
To understand this situation, it is necessary to look at it not only from the military, but also from the humanitarian, strategic and symbolic points of view. What is happening in Kupyansk and what is the importance of this city? UA.news political observer Nikita Trachuk Together with the experts he dealt with the question.
The military dynamics and tactics of the enemy
As of September 22, 2025, the situation in Kupyansk It remains extremely tense. Despite the denial of official Kiev about the presence of the enemy directly in the city (it is said that only the impregnation of the DRG is recorded), Russian troops are constantly trying to penetrate the Ukrainian defense lines in several sections at the same time.
The key discrepancy of data is that while military reports indicate the absence of a breakthrough, analytics Deepstate However, the Armed Forces fighters themselves report the expansion of hostile wedge in Ukrainian defense, which is approaching the city center, fixing in the northern and northwestern areas. This indicates a deep adaptation of the enemy, which, instead of a classical storm with heavy equipment, which requires considerable resources, has become more exhausting and hidden methods – such as a breakthrough through the same gas pipe.
Russian units use the tactics of impregnation with small infantry groups. These groups are trying to penetrate the Ukrainian rear, hide in forestry or urban buildings, and then unite to adjust fire or fixation in homes. Such tactics indicate that the enemy probably feels a lack of full forces for the frontal assault and cannot transfer heavy equipment across the Oskil River, which serves as a natural obstacle.
One of the most dangerous and least traditional methods used by the enemy is the movement through the already mentioned gas pipe to overcome the Oskil River. Although the General Staff of the Armed Forces said that the pipeline does not directly into the city and its exit is under the control of defense forces, the very fact of using this tactic indicates a high degree of determination of the enemy for the sake of sacrificing its health and life for the capture of Ukrainian cities, which Putin does not even officially claim.
However, moving through the pipe allows small groups to reach the outskirts of the city, bypassing Ukrainian positions. Similar methods that compensate for the impossibility of throwing heavy equipment indicate that the Russian army seeks to take Kupyansk at any cost.
Destruction and humanitarian situation in Kupyansk
Continuous battles and shelling turned Kupyansk into ruins. According to local authorities, more than 95% of buildings in the city are destroyed or damaged. All utilities – light, water, gas – are completely absent, which makes the city absolutely unsuitable for life.
Due to the high density of shelling using FPV-pings and managed aviation bombs, the restoration of infrastructure is impossible. Even the last hospital in the city stopped working in May 2025 after a series of intense Russian air strikes. This testifies to the conscious transformation of the city into a “dead zone”.
Despite the catastrophic situation, in the settlement, according to various estimates, It remains From 740 to 800 civilians, and in the Kupyansk community in total – up to two thousand. Although the authorities are constantly calling citizens to evacuate, its pace remains extremely low. For many people, only the physical destruction of their homes is the decisive factor in leaving.
In the face of constant threat, humanitarian aid is almost not delivered. In this context, the destruction of infrastructure and continuous shelling can be considered not as a side effect of fighting, but as a conscious tactics of the enemy, aimed at transforming the city into a dump of concrete that is not suitable for life. Such military “behavior” can even have signs of genocide.
Kupyansk: City value
The value of Kupyansk goes far beyond its relatively small ones – slightly less Bakhmut – geographical sizes. Historically, it is an important transport hub through which several highways and rail branches pass.
However, for Russian invaders, the main purpose is not so much Kupyansk himself, but a nearby Kupyansk-node railway, which serves as an important transport corridor. Control of this station will significantly improve its own logistics and supply of troops operating in the Donbass, as the railway tracks connect the Belgorod region with Kramatorsk and Liman directions. Thus, the battle for Kupyansk is, in fact, a battle for logistics, which has a direct impact on the dynamics of hostilities throughout the Eastern Front.
Kupyansk is also called “long gates” to Kharkiv. Its maintenance is critical for ensuring the safety of the regional center, which is the second largest agglomeration in Ukraine. However, the tactical importance of the city is not limited only by the defense of Kharkiv region. The Oskil River, which divides the city into two shores, served as a natural barrier for Russian troops. However, as the events of recent times show, the enemy still managed to fix himself on the right bank.
In the case of full occupation of the Kupyansk Ukrainian positions on the left bank of the Oskil River, they may be in a very difficult position due to problems with logistics, which will make them retreat and may have dominoes for the entire defensive line in this direction. Moreover, Kupyansk opens the way to further advance to the Donbas, up to Svyatogorsk and even Slavic and Kramatorsk agglomerations, which are the strategic “heart” of Ukrainian defense in the Donbass. Therefore, the pressure in the Kupyansk direction should be considered as part of a broader strategy aimed at stretching the Ukrainian forces.
In addition to military and logistics import NSC has a deep political-symbolic and ideological dimension. In September 2022, the Ukrainian forces liberated the city as a result of a lightning counter -offensive, which became one of Ukraine’s greatest military success. For Russia, the loss of the city, which was declared the center of the occupation administration in Kharkiv region, became a symbol of humiliation and defeat.
Therefore, the current battles for Kupyansk are not only a military operation, but also a political act, an attempt to revenge and revenge for the defeat of three years ago. Even more symbolic is the fact that Manages The former Officer of the Armed Forces, a native of Kharkiv region, who betrayed Ukraine in 2014.
The capture of the city, if it happens, will necessarily be used as much as possible by Russian propaganda as confirmation that, they say, “Russian allness will be raised.” This, in turn, is part of a psychological operation aimed at undermining the moral spirit of Ukrainian society and international support.
The expert’s opinion
Military Expert, SBU Colonel retired Oleg Starikov Considers fights for Kupyansk very important, and important in the strategic plane. However, his forecasts are quite gloomy: the speaker says it is likely that the city will not be able to keep.
“If you take a political dimension, the Kremlin allegedly does not claim to Kharkiv region. However, from a military point of view, everything is very interesting, and not even with tactical, but from operational-strategic. In this context, Kupyansk occupies an important geographical place: it is a large transport hub with railway and road roads. If you control this city, you can fully control the road to Izum, Chuguev, Kharkiv, Big Burluk, etc. The direction of the main blow from Kupyansk is to the south, towards the Slavic-Kramatorsk agglomeration. The Russians are now fighting for Kupyansk, and the probability of maintaining the city of the Armed Forces, unfortunately, is low.
If the occupation happens and they are fixed there, then all prospects for the successful campaign of troops to the north of the mentioned Slavic-Kramatorsk agglomeration will be opened. As a result, this fortress may well be surrounded from the north, south and east. Defending in such a situation will be problematic and difficult. I think that the logistics that leads to these fortifications will be cut through the tactics: drones that create the area of the lesion, Kilzone. Therefore, if the war is not stopped by the political and diplomatic way in the near future, then the enemy will fit and surround the Slavic-Kramatorsk agglomeration by winter, ” – said Oleg Starikov.
Summarizing, the situation in Kupyansk is extremely complex today and combines constant military pressure, deep humanitarian crisis and multilayered strategic and symbolic significance. The analysis of the tactics of the enemy, its goals and the position of the city as of now suggest that the risks of occupation are, unfortunately, absolutely real.
This battle is not only the struggle for the city, but also the confrontation on the strategic initiative on the front, the fight for logistics pathways and a test for the psychological stability of both parties. Kupyansk, destroyed and almost abandoned by people for many years, remains a symbol of unbroken and fierce struggle, and remains one of the key “barometers” of the dynamics of the entire war in the northeast direction.