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Editor | L.Y.
Preliminary
According to reports, the three brigades belonging to the 10th Army of the Ukrainian Army located on the east bank of the Oskill River were trapped in the encirclement of the Russian army. This breakthrough was regarded by military observers as a significant tactical achievement made by the Russian military leadership after a long period of consumption. It can be said that the Russian military leadership has a big face this time! After all, the "Russia-Ukraine conflict" has been fierce for three and a half years. This is the first time that news has been reported that three entire brigades of the Ukrainian army have been surrounded.
As a transport hub connecting Kharkov and Lugansk, Kupiyansk’s control directly affects the circulation of goods and force on the Eastern Front. The Russian western military district has steadily concentrated on the eastern shore of the Oskyr River since the launch of a new round of offensive on November 29, 2024, where the movement of the Guard 1st Tank Group Army is crucial. This year-on-year red-field parade, after consolidating the position on the east bank in early September, began to push the Russian defense line to the west by alternating multi-level advances, laying the foundation for the consolidation of the situation.
net of encirclement
The Russian army’s joint operations did not rely on the traditional brigade assault, but were gradually implemented through the combined tactics of “Pilot infiltration + fire blockade”. In mid-September, the Russian infantry division, with a group of 2-3 people as units, continued to infiltrate the weaknesses of the Ukrainian defense line, this high-frequency side-wing trial kept the Ukrainian defense system in a highly tense state. From the 13th, the Russian armored cluster began to advance to the core area of the eastern city district, and then controlled the striped area of the Ukrainian street to the Hiroki street, and the city’s headquarters May Street, and gradually completed the eastern siege of the Ukrainian military position.
The real crucial breakthrough occurred in the blockade of the M-26 road. This road was the core supply channel of the 10th Army Corps, carrying heavy transportation of ammunition, fuel and goods. The armored division of the 1st Army Guard Army under the cover of air artillery, built fire points along both sides of the road, and completely cut off ground transportation through the cross-cover of anti-tank missiles and long-range rocket guns. A video of the battlefield released by the Ukrainian military blogger shows that several Ukrainian military trucks attempting to force pass were burned in the middle of the road, and since then no vehicle has been able to break the blockade line.
The siege of the East Bank was finally formed in late September.Russian troops crossed the river through the more than 20 kilometers of gas pipeline north of Kupyansk, hidden mobilization from Lehman Peersh to the northern outskirts of the city, while engineering forces built a floating bridge to ensure armored forces crossed the river, and the western military district artillery cluster set up positions on the east bank carried out full coverage strikes.
At this time, the three Ukrainian military brigades have fallen into hostile troubles on the east, south and west, and the river Oskir in the north is difficult to intercept because of the rise in water levels, and the only circumference hopes to be blocked by natural barriers.The Russian Defense Ministry on September 23 that it has taken control of 5667 of the 8667 buildings in the city, forming a semi-encercled position on the Ukrainian army and continuing to tighten the blockade.
The hanging.
After the formation of the siege, the battlefield evolved into a fierce confrontation of technical equipment and tactical resilience. The artillery forces of the Ukrainian Maroc 14th Brigade became the core of defense, and its artillery commanders revealed that the forces rely on laptops to receive headquarters coordinates information, operate the Zuzana - 2 Slovak-aided 155mm self-pistols, and surrounded by the defensive drone attacks of soldiers equipped with cannon guns.
The Russian army uses the combined firepower of "patrol missiles + ballistic missiles" to break defense. The Lancet patrol missile continued to cruise over the battlefield, relying on an optical reconnaissance system to search a range of several square kilometers for several hours, and immediately carried out a suicide attack after discovering traces of artillery launch. In late September, the Russian Iskander ballistic missile accurately hit the Ukrainian army's Himas rocket position 30 kilometers northwest of Kupyansk. The Russian Defense Ministry's war report showed that the strike reduced the Ukrainian army's long-range fire support capabilities in this direction. 70%, a total of 37 Himas systems have been destroyed since the conflict.
Defensive warfare in urban areas is characterized by fragmentation. The Ukrainian army, which lost centralized command, was forced to dismantle into teams of 2-3 people, relying on the remaining buildings to carry out flexible defense and sabotage operations. However, the Russian army's optical fiber drones have achieved attacks within a range of 30 kilometers and continue to attack the Ukrainian army's logistics. Coupled with air strikes and ground clearance, the Ukrainian army has lost an average of 3-4 strongholds every day, and its ammunition is nearly exhausted. It can only rely on night infiltration to obtain a small amount of supplies. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the fighting in the past month has wiped out more than 1,800 Ukrainian troops, destroyed 36 armored vehicles and 137 artillery pieces.
Strategy outside the battlefield.
The impact of this encirclement operation has gone beyond the tactical level. The Russian Ministry of Defense particularly emphasized in its briefing on September 25 that since January 2025, the Russian army has controlled an area of 4,714 square kilometers on the eastern front. The breakthrough in Kupyansk will open a key gap for the winter offensive and can advance into Kharkiv Oblast. Advance in depth and create conditions for attacking the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk urban agglomeration. Military observers pointed out that compared with the Battle of Mariupol in 2022, the tactical results of the "underground airborne troops" operating through engineering communication systems in this operation were remarkable, demonstrating more mature multi-arms coordination capabilities.
conclusion
Faced with front-line difficulties, Ukraine's Western aid channels are still operating. Germany's Daimler-Benz has announced that it will double the production capacity of Metros military trucks and plans to produce an additional 1000 vehicles to supplement the loss of the transport fleet. The United States is considering providing Tomahawk missiles, but it will be difficult for these assistance to reach the Kupyansk front line in the short term. As severe cold approaches in late October, the mobility of armored forces will be limited and the two sides may enter a stalemate.
The encirclement situation of Kupyansk has become the epitome of the Russia-Ukraine conflict entering a stage of consumption and breakthrough. During the more than 1,300 days of tug-of-war, the tactical systems of both sides have been continuously upgraded iteratively, and the encirclement of three entire brigades undoubtedly added new strategic variables to this long conflict.
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