Russia masses over 40,000 soldiers, heavy armor near Kupyansk, hinting at plans for further advances
The Russian military has concentrated about 40,000 troops, more than 500 tanks, and 650 armored combat vehicles near Kupyansk, Illya Yershash, the head of the press service of the Khortytsia operational and strategic troop grouping, said on national television on Feb. 2.
In the Lyman-Kupyansk sector of the front, Ukrainian defenders eliminated more than 228 troops and 75 pieces of weapons, including tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, video surveillance systems, and various types of field electronic warfare equipment.
The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War said on Jan. 21 that Russian forces had advanced along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line and captured Krokhmalne in Kharkiv Oblast. Later, Volodymyr Fitio, head of the public relations service of the Ground Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, confirmed this.
The Offensive Guard said that the retreat of the Ukrainian Defense Forces from the village of Krokhmalne was not a "problematic situation" because it "cannot be considered a settlement."
The Russians announced the capture of the village of Tabayivka in Kharkiv Oblast on Jan. 28. Fitio said on Jan. 29 that the Russians' statements about the capture of Tabayivka were not true.
Read also: Russia announces seizure of Kharkiv Oblast hamlet amid escalation around Kupyansk on eastern front
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