Hot spot on front line: Expert explains why Russia intensifies fire in Kupiansk direction

The hottest direction for the week

Throughout the entire week, the east remains the epicenter of hostilities. The enemy has deployed all forces to halt the advance of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, according to a statement of the Deputy Minister of Defense, Hanna Maliar.

She also noted that the number of enemy shelling in the east had significantly increased - about 9,000 in a week. Moreover, the enemy had utilized around 500,000 pieces of ammunition.

Under such circumstances, our defenders are preventing the enemy from advancing on one of the fronts where the occupiers are conducting offensive operations, specifically in the Kupiansk direction. Heavy battles are ongoing.

"In the Kupiansk direction, the enemy was searching for weak points in our defense and unsuccessfully attempting assaults in the area east of Petropavlivka in the Kharkiv region," reported Maliar.

Photo: The Ministry of Defense named the Kupiansk direction the hottest in the past week (deepstatemap)

She explained that in the Kupiansk direction, the enemy had planned to reclaim their lost positions.

"The Kupiansk direction was probably the hottest. The enemy there was attempting to regain positions they lost back in the fall. They have such a plan. They want to reclaim territories in the Kharkiv region that they lost. It was a very intense direction, the enemy tried to breach our defense. They did not succeed in doing so. However, the confrontation was very intense," noted Maliar.

Photo: The Russians conducted unsuccessful assault operations in the area east of Petropavlivka (deepstatemap).

Will the Russians succeed in seeking "revenge" near Kupiansk?

The situation in the Kupiansk direction was commented on today by the spokesperson of the Eastern Group of Forces, Serhii Cherevatyi. He stated that the Russians were living for revenge.

"And this has been going on for more than a month. Initially, it was about taking the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as intermediate stages. Considering that our enemies are fixated on dates, symbols - they would have loved to attempt a successful operation in Kharkiv, where they were just humiliated, and within a few days, they were pushed out from a vast territory. Abandoning their equipment and ammunition. Therefore, unquestionably, they would like to repeat some echo of that glory, and they would like to break through in the Kupiansk area," Cherevatyi explained.

He noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were aware of all the enemy's intentions and thwart them.

"We know all the units that are concentrated, all the commanders. All the plans. And so, for many weeks in a row, we've been foiling their intentions. And despite certain escalation, the situation, if characterized militarily, is very complex but absolutely under control," Cherevatyi added.

What is the occupant's goal?

Military expert Oleksii Hetman mentioned in a comment to the news agency that in the Kupiansk direction, the occupying forces are resorting to tank attacks.

"This is not new to them. They started resorting to tank attacks on our positions, rather than infantry assaults. This way, they intend to reach the Oskil River and force us onto the other bank," explains the interviewee.

At the same time, the expert notes that Ukrainian forces have also introduced small reserves in response, and the enemy's offensive actions have been halted, without achieving significant progress.

Photo: The occupiers aim to push the Defense Forces beyond the Oskil River (deepstatemap).

"For now, the situation is under control. Most likely, they conducted these counter-offensive actions to force us to shift forces from the southern direction to the northern one along the front line. Or to disperse our forces in order to weaken our capabilities in other areas," believes Hetman.

According to the expert, to say that the enemy has no chances would be bold, but these chances are minimal.

Enemy intensifies shelling

Lately, the enemy forces have been increasing their fire. In particular, civilian objects and peaceful residents are suffering from occupant attacks. For instance, today, the aggressor country shelled the village of Kucherivka in the Kupiansk district, hitting a house. Two people were killed, and three more were injured.

Furthermore, on July 5th, Russian forces targeted a blood transfusion center in the Kupiansk district with a precision airstrike. As a result, two people were killed, and four others were wounded."

Why is Russia intensifying the fire?

Regarding the escalation of shelling in the Kupiansk direction, the expert referred to it as a tactic employed by the occupiers.

"They are trying to conduct dense shelling with artillery systems to destroy everything that is there, to create a 'plowed field.' Thinking that they will succeed, they believe that this will weaken our defensive capabilities," explains Hetman.

However, he emphasized that even with such density, the Russians were not capable of inflicting significant damage on our forces.

"We must remember that we are conducting a very successful counter-battery fight, destroying dozens of enemy artillery systems every day. We have more than a 10-fold advantage in counter-battery warfare because we possess longer-range weaponry by several kilometers. The same M777 guns are more high-precision. Therefore, from a greater distance, we can target the enemy's artillery systems, something they cannot do in response," the expert summarized.