Zelensky meets soldiers fighting on Kupiansk-Lyman axis

KYIV, Ukraine

President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky visited combat brigades on the front line in Kharkiv Oblast fighting on the Kupiansk-Lyman axis, the President's Office said on October 3.

Zelensky spoke to commanders about the operational situation on the battlefield, the progress of offensive and defensive operations, and the current issues faced by units.

“The Kupiansk-Lyman direction is one of the hottest on the front. The Russian invaders are constantly trying to advance there,” the President’s Office said.

Zelensky was briefed on the units' critical needs, with the commanders most often mentioning anti-aircraft and electronic warfare equipment as well as certain types of ammunition.

The president also presented state awards to soldiers and combat medics, thanking them "for every day and night that you give for all of us, without sparing yourself."

"Each of our combat brigades, each soldier who destroys the invaders, asserts with each step forward that Ukrainian victory will certainly come," said Zelensky.

Russia has been concentrating its forces around Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast since mid-July, trying to regain positions lost during the Ukrainian surprise counteroffensive last autumn. The city was occupied by Russian forces in 2022 from Feb. 27 to Sept. 10.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on Sept. 28 that Russian troops had reduced the tempo of their localized offensive operations on the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line.