MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. All the districts in Kupyansk in the Kharkov Region are under the Russian army’s control, Battlegroup West Spokesman Leonid Sharov told TASS on Tuesday.
"I am staying at a forward command post of the 121st Motor Rifle Regiment of the 68th Motor Rifle Division of the Battlegroup West’s 6th Combined Arms Army. Battlegroup West units continue accomplishing combat objectives in the zone of the special military operation. The city of Kupyansk is under the control of the 6th Combined Arms Army," the spokesman said.
Battlegroup West forces are firmly rebuffing all the Ukrainian army’s attacks on communities near Kupyansk, keeping them under their control, he said.
"Battlegroup units are firmly repelling enemy attacks on the settlements of Tishchenkovka, Moskovka and Sobolevka, retaining control of these communities and engaging the adversary by artillery fire and strike drones at distant approaches, preventing it from breaking through towards Kupyansk," the spokesman said.
Attack drone teams and artillery crews of Russia’s Battlegroup West struck a group of the Ukrainian army’s Colombian mercenaries near Kupyansk, he said.
"Teams of unmanned systems forces, strike drones and artillery struck a group of Colombian mercenaries in a concerted operation," the spokesman said.
The Ukrainian military is daily trying to infiltrate Kupyansk by small groups, suffering heavy losses, he said.
"The enemy is trying every day to infiltrate Kupyansk by small groups through an urban cemetery, suffering heavy losses among manpower and equipment," the spokesman said.
Scattered Ukrainian army groups have been blocked in two buildings in a neighborhood of Kupyansk and will soon be destroyed, he said.
"Scattered enemy groups have been blocked in two buildings in the neighborhood Yubileiny. All the districts are under the control of Russian troops. The Ukrainian army’s forces will be eliminated shortly by well-coordinated actions of assault teams of the 121st Motor Rifle Regiment," the spokesman said.