Ukraine’s Defense Forces repel massive Russian assault effort in Kupiansk axis

In the Kupiansk direction, Ukraine’s Defense Forces repelled a powerful Russian assault, destroying an armored group.

That’s according to the Khortytsia Grouping of Troops, Ukrinform reports.

"In the Kupiansk direction, we repelled a powerful enemy assault, destroying their armored group. As part of the assault, the enemy employed five armored vehicles: two tanks and three infantry fighting vehicles carrying troops, which were promptly detected by our unit's aerial reconnaissance," the report says.

As noted, Ukrainian defenders initially attacked the IFVs before the latter approached the dismounting site, but that attack was unsuccessful. "Right at the dismounting site, when enemy infantry were getting out of combat vehicles, our brigade’s drone operators started dropping explosive payload on the enemy force. Russia’s attempt to safely extract the vehicles from the engagement zone failed, which led to its destruction by drone strikes," the report reads.

The defense forces destroyed an IFV and a tank, the press service added.

"Enemy infantrymen, who were thrown into battle, were unable to maneuver and attack due to the loss of heavy armor. They attempted to hide in the forest strip but they were killed by drone strikes," the report notes.

Raw footage of the engagement is available here.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Russia’s total combat casualties are currently estimated 774,100, including 1,820 killed or wounded the last 24 hours.