Russian army becomes more active in Kupyansk and Svatove areas, Ukrainian forces deter Russia’s efforts – military expert Zgurets

Serhiy Zgurets stated this on Espreso. 

“There is a group of 80,000 enemy forces, with 50,000 of them located in the Bakhmut area. Recently, the enemy has been more active in the Kupyansk area, launching attacks on Masyutivka. They are also attempting to displace our troops closer to the Zherebets River,” he noted.

According to Zgurets, these plans were already known but now they have become more active. However, despite their efforts, the front line remains unchanged, and the Armed Forces are successfully blocking the enemy's attempts to complicate the situation.

“It seems that the enemy's goal is to stretch our forces and resources to reduce pressure on Bakhmut and the southern regions. The Ukrainian side has taken these risks into account, and it remains to be seen how the situation will develop. From my perspective, we have the ability to block and hold the front line. Therefore, if there is an increase in activity in the coming days, it is unlikely to benefit the enemy, in my opinion,” the analyst concluded.

• On July 16, Hanna Malyar, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, stated that the situation in the eastern part of the country has become more serious. The enemy has been making significant progress towards Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region for two consecutive days.

• On July 17, Oleksandr Skoryk, a Deputy of the Kharkiv Regional Council, mentioned that the Russian army is still carrying out counteroffensive maneuvers in the Kupyansk area.