Battle of Kupiansk

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Battle of Kupiansk
Part of the 2022 Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russian casualties and damaged equipment in the aftermath of the battle
Date8–16 September 2022
(1 week and 1 day)
Location
Kupiansk, Kupiansk Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine
Result Ukrainian victory
Belligerents
 Russia  Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Russia Roman Berdnikov[1]
Russia Aleksandr Lapin		 Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi[2]
Andriy Nikolaychuk † [3]
Units involved

 Russian Armed Forces

Rosgvardiya

 Ukrainian Armed Forces

Security Service of Ukraine

National Guard of Ukraine[8]
Casualties and losses
Ukrainian claim:
130+ killed,
16 captured[9][4]		 Unknown

The battle of Kupiansk was a part of the Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive that began on 8 September 2022 and ended on 16 September 2022. A Financial Times article on 28 September depicted the battle and the Ukrainian advance preceding it as "The 90km journey that changed the course of the war in Ukraine."[10]

Background[edit]

Main articles: Russian occupation of Kharkiv Oblast and 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive
Further information: Battle of Balakliia

Kupiansk was occupied by Russian forces from 27 February 2022 to 10 September 2022.[11] Although the Ukrainian army had destroyed a railway bridge to slow the Russian advance three days earlier, Kupiansk Mayor Hennadiy Matsehora, member of the Opposition Platform — For Life party, surrendered the city to the Russian Army in exchange for a cessation of hostilities, as the Russians threatened to take the city by force. As a result, the Ukrainian government indicted Matsehora for treason the next day.[12] On 28 February 2022, Matsehora was arrested by Ukrainian authorities.[13] Later Kupiansk became the de facto seat of the Russian-backed Kharkiv military-civilian administration[citation needed] and an important logistical supply route.[14]

Battle[edit]

Prior to the battle, the Ukrainian general staff claimed an attack on a Russian military base in Kupiansk on 5 September killed 100 Russian soldiers.[9]

On 8 September 2022, following a large-scale Ukrainian counteroffensive capturing over 20 settlements in just days, Russian occupation authorities in the city claimed that Russian forces began to defend Kupiansk.[15][9][16] Ukrainian soldiers of the Kraken Regiment entered the outskirts of Kupiansk on 9 September, recapturing the city council building by the next morning.[17] Fighting damaged much of the town's center. Later that day, Ukrainian officials announced that Kupiansk had been liberated.[18]

Maxim Gubin, the pro-Russian mayoral replacement for Matsehora, had fled to Russia following Ukraine retaking Kupiansk.[citation needed]

Russian forces evacuated to the eastern side of the Oskil River, in the town of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, and blew the connecting bridge to the town while retreating.[19] During the battle for the adjacent city, Russian forces bombed the local meat factory of Kupiansk, killing around a thousand pigs.[4] Ukrainian forces recaptured the settlement on 16 September.[19] In the immediate aftermath of the battle, the bodies of Russian soldiers were strewn around both Kupiansk and Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi.[4]

Aftermath[edit]

See also: Luhansk Oblast campaign

Following the Ukrainian liberation of the towns, Russian forces continued to shell Kupiansk.[20] The first strikes against the town were on 13 September, which killed two civilians.[21] The next day, one person was wounded from airstrikes.[22] On 18 September, five people were injured from shelling in Kupiansk.[23] Two days later, two civilians were killed and five injured after Russian shelling on the city.[24] On 22 September, a woman and two children were injured by shelling.[25] On 27 September, five civilians were injured after a Russian strike on a church in Kupiansk.[26]

On 3 October, Russian shelling of a hospital in Kupiansk killed a doctor and injured a nurse.[27] One woman was injured on 5 October by an airstrike.[28]

On 26 September, Russian forces shelled a convoy of civilians escaping the villages of Kurylivka and Pishchane, near Kupiansk, killing 26 civilians. Signs of torture were discovered in Russian administration centers throughout the city.[29]

Gallery[edit]

  • City council after the battle, February 2023.
    City council after the battle, February 2023.
  • Abandoned vehicles in Kupiansk after the battle.
    Abandoned vehicles in Kupiansk after the battle.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Командувача військ західного округу РФ Берднікова зняли з посади після успішного наступу ЗСУ на Харківщині". Цензор.НЕТ (in Ukrainian). 11 September 2022. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  2. ^ Ministry of Defence of Ukraine [@DefenceU] (10 September 2022). "[...] The Commander of Ukrainian Land Forces, Hero of Ukraine, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi is leading the Ukrainian offensive in this sector. [...]" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "Залишилася дружина та маленькі діти: вшануймо хвилиною мовчання військовослужбовця Андрія Ніколайчука". 19 September 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e Järvenkylä, Nina (16 November 2022). "IL Ukrainassa: Kraken-yksikkö työnsi venäläiset ulos Kupianskista – taisteluissa kaduilla juoksi sikoja ja venäläiset pakenivat metsään". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  5. ^ Gerashchenko, Anton [@Gerashchenko_en] (11 September 2022). "Warriors of the 92nd Mechanized Brigade found an army electrician's "Manual for taking over the world" in Russian positions near Balakliia, Kharkiv Oblast. All the notes were made by hand. Straightaway we can see the power of the Russian army. https://t.co/Py9vKuR6NI" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Balachuk, Iryna (10 September 2022). "Occupiers say they have left Izium and other settlements, while Ukrainian troops show a video: We are in Izium". Ukrainska Pravda. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  7. ^ Cole, Brendan (10 September 2022). "Ukrainian forces capture key town as counteroffensive gathers pace: Kyiv". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Ukrainian serviceman on liberated Kupiansk: Collaborators in basements, children taken to Russia". Ukrinform. 2 October 2022. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Mazurenko, Alona (5 September 2022). "Armed Forces of Ukraine advance on Kramatorsk front, killing up to 100 occupiers near Kupiansk General Staff". Ukrainska Pravda. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  10. ^ "The 90km journey that changed the course of the war in Ukraine". Financial Times(FT). 28 September 2022. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  11. ^ "In Kharkiv region, mayor admits to handing over city to occupiers". Pravda. 27 February 2022. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Mayor of Kupiansk who surrendered his city to invaders indicted for treason". Ukrayinska Pravda. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Мера Куп'янська, який здав місто окупантам, затримано – джерело" [Mayor of Kupyansk, who surrendered the city to the occupiers, has been detained – source]. LIGA (in Ukrainian). 28 February 2022. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  14. ^ Goodhind, William (2023). "Contested Ground, Report 7: Russian Military Convoys, Occupied-Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, 5 and 31 May 2022". rgdoi.net. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.22703.10407/1.
  15. ^ "Occupation authorities in Kupiansk say that Russian army began to defend the city, and additional reinforcement entered the region from Russia Kupyansk, Kharkiv - Ukraine Interactive map - Ukraine Latest news on live map - liveuamap.com". Ukraine Interactive map - Ukraine Latest news on live map - liveuamap.com. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Representative of General staff of Armed forces of Ukraine says over 20 settlements were liberated in Kharkiv region, in some areas penetration in Russian defense positions up to 50 kms Kharkiv - Ukraine Interactive map - Ukraine Latest news on live map - liveuamap.com". Ukraine Interactive map - Ukraine Latest news on live map - liveuamap.com. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  17. ^ Hunder, Max; Hnidyi, Vitalii (10 September 2022). "Russia gives up key northeast towns as Ukrainian forces advance". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 September 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Ukraine's daring counteroffensive, war reparations, and negotiations – an interview with Mykhailo Podolyak". news.yahoo.com. 11 September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  20. ^ Loveluck, Louisa; Korolchuk, Serhii; Grzedzinski, Wojciech (15 October 2022). "In Kupiansk, in northeast Ukraine, liberation came at a steep cost". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  21. ^ "Three civilians killed in Russia's shelling of Kharkiv region". Ukrinform. 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  22. ^ "Three wounded in enemy attacks on liberated territories of Kharkiv region". Ukrinform. 14 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Russian forces shell civilian car in Kharkiv region, killing two women". Ukrinform. 18 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Two civilians killed, nine more injured in enemy shelling of Kharkiv region". Ukrinform. 20 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  25. ^ "Russian troops again shell liberated Kupiansk, injuring woman and two children". Ukrinform. 22 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  26. ^ "Missile strike on Kupiansk: President's Office shows consequences of attack". Ukrinform. 27 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  27. ^ "Zelensky: invaders shell hospital in Kupyansk, killing doctor, injuring nurse". Ukrinform. 3 October 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  28. ^ "Three civilians injured in enemy shelling of Kharkiv region". Ukrinform. 5 October 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  29. ^ Gallón, Natalie; Walsh, Nick Paton; Gak, Kostyantin; Lâiné, Brice (19 September 2022). "Liberation has finally come to Ukraine's Kharkiv. But scars of Russia's brutal occupation remain". CNN. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.


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