Ukrainian special forces posted images on social media showing their officers “in Kupyansk, which was and always will be Ukrainian”. Footage showed a handful of soldiers in camouflage gear carrying automatic weapons and gathered around an armored vehicle.

A regional official published a photo of Ukrainian soldiers in the city of 27,000 inhabitants, with the text: “Kupiansk is Ukraine”.

This new important advance claimed by the Ukrainian forces comes after kyiv says it has regained control of 30 localities in the Kharkiv area, bordering Russia, in recent days.

The town of Kupyansk, some 120 km southeast of Kharkiv, fell to the Russians less than a week after Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine began on February 24.

Its takeover by Ukrainian forces could pose a serious problem for Moscow, as the city lies on supply routes to other Russian positions on the frontline.

kyiv could soon, according to observers of the conflict, increase its pressure on other cities controlled by the Russians, in particular Izium, which had a population of approximately 45,000 inhabitants before the war and which is of great importance for Moscow’s military operations. .