Ukraine says it controls 90% of Kupiansk, Russia denies it

Sign up now: Get insights on Asias fast-moving developments

FILE PHOTO: Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskiy self-records a video in front of a sign that reads Kupiansk’, amid Russias attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Kupiansk, Kharkiv region, Ukraine December 12, 2025. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

KYIV, Dec 17 - Ukraine controls nearly 90% of the strategic northeastern town of Kupiansk, its military chief said on Wednesday, but Russias defence minister said a Ukrainian counter-attack on the town had been unsuccessful.

The chief of Russias general staff told President ‍Vladimir ​Putin last month that Russian forces had taken control of Kupiansk. Kyiv ‍denied the town had changed hands and a Ukrainian commander said last week that Ukrainian forces had retaken parts of it in an ​operation that ​encircled Russian troops.

Thanks to active search and strike operations, we managed to repel the (Russians) from Kupiansk and take control of almost 90% of the towns territory, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander in Chief of Ukraines Armed Forces, wrote on ‍Telegram on Wednesday.

Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov later told a televised meeting of top defence officials that Ukrainian forces were ​trying unsuccessfully to take control of Kupiansk.

Reuters could ⁠not independently verify the situation in Kupiansk, a strategically important railway hub that has been largely destroyed in nearly four years of war in Ukraine since Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022.

ZELENSKIY VISITED KUPIANSK LAST WEEK

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted a photo of himself at the ​entrance to