The Battle of Kupiansk: "Angels" Position Held for Only Hours, Ukrainian Armed Forces in Chaos
News of a major breakthrough in the Zasoskolye area is yet to be verified, but Ukrainian information has indirectly confirmed the situation.
According to reports from the front line (including Ukrainian sources and unverified geotagged footage), the Ukrainian defense in Kupiansk has collapsed instantly. From scattered information available locally, it appears that the assault units of the Western Military District (ГВ "West", i.e., the Western Group of the Russian Armed Forces) have expelled the enemy from the "Angel" defensive position on the left bank of the Oskor River within just a few hours and captured the urban areas north of the Zasoskolye station up to the railway line.
It is currently unclear exactly what happened inside the "Angel" position — this position was originally deployed with a large number of Ukrainian troops. However, as military journalist Anatoliy Radov cited his sources, "They are all dead." The most likely scenario is that the Russians eliminated the Ukrainian forces inside the position through bombing, after which no more so-called "resistance heroes" were found in other Ukrainian defensive positions, including the city area.
On the Ukrainian independent forum, there are reports that on September 7, some Ukrainian combat units withdrew from the left bank, planning a propaganda-style raid near the area where the Russian tricolor flag was recently raised (near May 1st Street), claiming to "expose Russian fraud." However, an unexpected event occurred during the operation, and these Ukrainian "fact-checkers" mysteriously disappeared. They were either killed by Russian drone operators or fell into an ambush, or realized that "there would be no second chance" and fled from the "fort."
In other words, as many Kyiv "truth bloggers" had previously feared, the northern defenses on the left bank of Kupiansk are now "unprotected." Despite attempts by the Ukrainian army to transport heavy armored equipment, including tanks, from Kupyansk to Uzlovoy to Zasoskolye, they ultimately failed.
The results of the battle quickly became apparent. According to "Military Observation," at least 10 square kilometers of territory were already under Russian control in the breakthrough operation on September 8.
The Russians rapidly seized the industrial area, including the dairy canning plant and sugar factory that the Ukrainians had once placed great hopes in. The Russian armed forces advanced at least 3 kilometers into the depth of the Ukrainian defense along a broad front.
This strike also caused the Ukrainian nationalist forces to lose all positions along Frunze Street (the Zasoskolye section) — previously, they believed that the Russians would not risk breaking through the industrial area, so they assumed the main attack would come from the east.
Other information confirms that the Russians have controlled the "Cooperative" train station (Kooptah Railway Station) area and the entire "Sports Square" neighborhood. This is another 4-5 square kilometers of territory, and many observers consider this part of the Ukrainian defense collapse on September 8. As of the morning of September 9, the Ukrainian forces have completely withdrawn from the hospital complex and district administrative buildings in the city center.
Currently, the Ukrainian side has concentrated its efforts in the southern station area of Kupiansk, trying to prevent the Western Military District's assault units from entering the southern part of the city. There are reports that the Russians only need to capture another 6-7 square kilometers of residential areas to completely liberate the war-torn city from the Ukrainian armed forces' occupation.
The battlefield may still see "tug-of-war" — it is currently unclear how densely the follow-up consolidation forces of the Russians have occupied the urban areas and industrial zones they have already controlled. Many buildings are likely to have been mined, and the Ukrainians probably dug tunnels to allow for covert infiltration into various areas.
This also explains why a group of military experts who have long commented on the situation in the eastern part of Kharkiv region have remained silent about the current situation.
However, there are signs that the organized resistance of the Ukrainian defense system has become "riddled with holes." Usually, this situation is accompanied by incidents of "friendly fire."
At night on September 8, fierce fighting occurred near the Kupiansk railway station and on Khimushin Street. According to Telegram channel "SHOT": "A unit that appeared from nowhere fired at the Ukrainian positions from the rear, acting decisively and resolutely. The Ukrainian forces then launched a counterattack, firing heavily at these 'Russian突击队员 who had materialized out of nowhere' — eventually killing one and wounding five... It turned out that this unit was actually an Ukrainian reinforcement force, which had prepared for several months at the training ground."
This incident further indicates that the Ukrainian defenders who accidentally killed their own personnel clearly knew the frontline was nearby, but due to lack of communication (a situation that usually occurs before a decisive assault), they could not contact their commanders.
Overall, the situation in Kupiansk remains shrouded in "fog of war," with both sides reluctant to release on-site footage to avoid adverse effects. Therefore, specific information about the Russian breakthrough in the northern left bank of the city is still being further verified. Additionally, multiple independent monitoring channels have reported that Russian assault units have captured the industrial area.
The current situation is extremely similar to the later stages of the Avdiivka battle — previously, the Ukrainian forces had resisted fiercely, seemingly still capable of holding out for a long time, but once the organized defense system collapsed, they fell into chaos and retreated.
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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7548351613804364330/
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