The Russian Armed Forces stated that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing Kupyansk for defense

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) began to prepare Kupyansk, Kharkov region, for defense, writes RIA Novosti with reference to the commander of the Bars-9 detachment of the Western Group of Forces.

“Their strength has already run out, their summer offensive has run out of steam, they are only preparing for defense,” he said, showing footage taken by reconnaissance drones.

The detachment commander with the call sign “Bear” clarified that the enemy was not going on the offensive, and there were no civilians in the area. According to him, Ukrainian troops are trying to build fortifications in this area, but “most of them are destroyed by aviation, long-range artillery and multiple launch rocket systems.”

On August 10, the authorities of the Kupyansky district began a mandatory evacuation of the population. It was carried out in territories close to the combat zone. In particular, it was announced for residents of the left bank of the Oskol River in Kupyansk, in the village of Kovsharovka and the city of Kupyansk-Uzlovoy. In total, the document spoke of 37 settlements.

Over the past few months, the Russian Ministry of Defense has been reporting a successful offensive in the Kupyansk direction. At the beginning of August, the department said that six attacks and counterattacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were repelled in the Novoselovskoye area in the Luhansk region.

On October 6, the Ministry of Defense in its daily report reportedthat over the past 24 hours Russian forces have repelled four counterattacks in the Kupyansk direction and two in the Zaporozhye direction. Also, 17 attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were repelled in the Krasnolimansk direction, 34 in the Donetsk direction and 11 in the South Donetsk direction.