Zelenskyy arrived at front line of Kupiansk sector: Details

"President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during his trip to the Kharkiv region, visited the battalion command post of the 14th Mechanized Brigade "Prince Roman the Great", which is performing combat tasks in defense of Kupiansk," the statement said.

Specifically, Zelenskyy listened to the report of the brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Oleksii Trubnikov, on the operational situation on the respective front line and interaction with adjacent units of the Armed Forces.

"The brigade commander also briefed the president on the experience of using various types of drones in the area of responsibility and the features of combating enemy UAVs using EW systems. They also discussed the provision of units with equipment, ammunition, and other current needs of the soldiers," added the president's website.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also talked to the soldiers and awarded defenders who distinguished themselves in defending the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

"I am glad to be here today - to see you, to congratulate you, to express gratitude from all Ukrainians, from the whole of Ukraine for the great work you do every day, for protecting the state, our families, independence, our sovereignty. I believe in you. I wish you health, take care of yourselves and your comrades. This is very important. I wish all of you victory," he said.

In particular, Zelenskyy conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine and presented the Order of the Golden Star to Colonel Oleh Apostol, who has served in the Airborne Assault Forces since 2008 and currently commands the 95th separate airborne assault brigade of the Armed Forces.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also presented the president's award, Cross of Military Merit, to Colonel Oleksandr Lutsenko. In addition, the defenders received orders from Bohdan Khmelnytsky for the III degree and "For Courage" for the II-III degrees from the President's hands.

Situation in the Kupiansk direction

Recently, Forbes reported that Russia allegedly deployed 500 tanks, up to 600 units of combat vehicles, hundreds of howitzers, and 40,000 troops near Kupiansk. The publication claims that the capture of Kupiansk is the main goal of the Russians.

At the same time, according to journalists, the number of Ukrainian troops in the specified part of the front is about 20,000 soldiers and hundreds of tanks, combat vehicles, and howitzers. Later, the Armed Forces responded to the media posting.