Europe

Ukraine says eastern town of Kupiansk still in its hands despite Russian attacks

Moscow courts dole out long jail terms for anti-war actions and comments

Russian president Vladimir Putin with Liberal Democratic Party leader Leonid Slutsky in the Kremlin: More people have been imprisoned with lengthy sentences for speaking out against Mr Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.
Russian president Vladimir Putin with Liberal Democratic Party leader Leonid Slutsky in the Kremlin: More people have been imprisoned with lengthy sentences for speaking out against Mr Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.
Daniel McLaughlin in Kyiv
Thu Nov 14 2024 - 18:04

Ukraine’s military said it had fought off Russian attempts to enter the town of Kupiansk in Kharkiv region, even as heavy clashes in several sectors of the eastern front line continued to put its troops under pressure.

Russian officials and a Ukrainian website that publishes generally accurate battlefield updates claimed that Moscow’s troops had entered Kupiansk, which is again in the Kremlin’s sights after being occupied shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022 and liberated about seven months later.

“All of the Russian occupiers’ attacks on this front have been successfully repelled. The Russian invaders were not able to enter Kupiansk. The city remains under the control of the Ukrainian armed forces,” Andriy Kovalev, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military’s general staff, said on Thursday.

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He said that, on Wednesday afternoon, Russian assault groups had tried to breach defensive lines around Kupiansk in several waves of attacks, using tanks and other armoured vehicles. The attacks failed and resulted in substantial Russian losses, he added.

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“I should note that some of the Russian soldiers were dressed in Ukrainian military uniforms. This violates the laws and customs of war and is a war crime,” Capt Kovalev said.

Kyiv also denied reports that Russia’s invasion force had seized the village of Illinka in Donetsk region close to the town of Kurakhove, which is a target for Moscow’s military as it aims to occupy nearby Pokrovsk, a small city that has served as a logistics hub for Ukraine’s defence of the region since fighting there began in 2014.

Battlefield claims from both sides could not be verified, but Russia has been slowly pushing forward in eastern Ukraine for several months thanks to its greater manpower and firepower and Kyiv’s struggle to mobilise sufficient defence forces.

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Ukraine launched a lightning cross-border attack on Russia’s Kursk region in August, which allowed it to seize more than 1,000sq km of enemy territory and may have boosted morale, but also stretched its forces even thinner. Moscow’s military is now slowly retaking ground in Kursk, but at a heavy cost in men and material.

Russia continues to crack down on any dissent against President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of pro-western Ukraine.

Moscow courts on Thursday jailed crane operator Sergei Andreyev for 24 years for setting fire to an army conscription office and sentenced theatre director Anastasia Berezhinskaya to eight years for posting online anti-war comments and calls to kill Mr Putin.

On Tuesday, Moscow paediatrician Nadezhda Buyanova (68) was jailed for 5½ years for spreading “fake” information about the Russian army after the ex-wife of a soldier killed in Ukraine reported her for criticising the invasion during a consultation.

Daniel McLaughlin

Daniel McLaughlin

Daniel McLaughlin is a contributor to The Irish Times from central and eastern Europe