Are Russians in Kupiansk city centre? NSDC responds
The situation in Kupiansk remains extremely difficult, with fierce battles continuing.
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Kharkiv region / © TSN.ua
Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council has addressed reports on whether Russian forces are present in the city centre. Officials insist that, as of Wednesday, 18 September, there are no Russian troops there.
Andriy Kovalenko, Head of the NSDC’s Centre for Countering Disinformation said this.
«There are no Russians in central Kupiansk at the moment. Heavy fighting for Kupiansk is ongoing, ” he said.
Earlier, claims had circulated online suggesting that Russian forces had reached the city centre and clashes were taking place there. However, these reports are false. According to the NSDC, the aim of such disinformation is to spread panic among the public. In reality, Ukrainian defenders are conducting operations to block and eliminate Russian sabotage groups that managed to infiltrate the city’s outskirts.
It also emerged that Ukrainian forces damaged and flooded a gas pipeline used by Russian troops to cross into the city. As a result, Russian saboteurs are now attempting to cross the Oskil River on rafts and boats.
«Information about fighting in the city centre does not correspond to reality. The occupiers are operating in northern Kupiansk, where they managed to infiltrate from the areas of Radkivka and Holubivka, ” said Oleksiy Belsky, spokesman for the Operational and Strategic Grouping of Troops „Dnipro“.