Gains in Kupyansk, crisis on other fronts

Meduza analyzes the pressure on Ukraine’s defenses as Russia’s offensive continues

Like our earlier reports on the combat situation in Ukraine, this article reviews recent battlefield developments based on open-source information. Meduza has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the outset, and our military analyses reflect our commitment to objective reporting on a war we firmly oppose.

Our map is based exclusively on open-source photos and videos, most of them posted by eyewitnesses on social media. We collect available evidence and determine its geolocation markers, adding only the photos and videos that clear this process. Meduza doesn’t try to track the conflict in real time; the data reflected on the map are typically at least 48 hours old.

Key updates as of December 19, 2025

Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU) have liberated part of the city of Kupyansk. Unlike in Pokrovsk — where only small Ukrainian assault teams have managed to slip in — relatively sizable units have entered western Kupyansk, in the Kharkiv region, taking control of several apartment blocks in the Yuvileynyi neighborhood on its southwestern edge. The area had seen heavy fighting and was previously held in part by Russian forces. The advance allowed President Volodymyr Zelensky to record a video at the city’s southwestern entrance last week.

Ukrainian troops also made gains in Kupyansk’s city center, building on positions they already held. Crucially, they drove a deep wedge into Russian defensive lines north of Kupyansk, a development that will likely make it much harder to supply the Russian assault units still inside the city.

Meanwhile, Russian forces continue offensive operations in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. They have captured the city of Siversk and are attacking Ukrainian positions in Hulyaipole.

Meduza has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the very start, and we are committed to reporting objectively on a war we firmly oppose. Join Meduza in its mission to challenge the Kremlin’s censorship with the truth. Donate today.

Kupyansk

Over the past year, Russian forces have repeatedly tried to capture Kupyansk on both sides of the Oskil River, which divides the city into eastern and western halves. Their biggest gains came during an advance from a bridgehead on the river’s western bank, when troops pushed through the city center and reached the southern outskirts. Even then, pockets of Ukrainian resistance remained, including in the southwest and city center. At the same time, Russian units took control of the industrial zone on the eastern side of the city.

The Russian bridgehead on the west bank has long suffered from supply problems and limited support for heavy weapons: artillery crews and even drone operators have had to work from the eastern bank. As a result, the bridgehead took the form of a long, narrow strip running along the river. Ukrainian forces have repeatedly tried to break through to the Oskil and split the Russian position into several isolated sections.

Ukraine’s troops made another attempt in December. They captured Kupyansk’s northern outskirts, effectively cutting off Russian assault units in the city’s center and south of the main bridgehead. Ukrainian forces simultaneously attacked near a residential neighborhood on the city’s southwestern edge, and Ukrainian assault troops were also spotted on Kupyansk’s central square.

Ukrainian reserves took part in the operation, including the National Guard’s Khartiia Brigade, which was redeployed to the Kupyansk area in the fall from near Kharkiv.

The choice of where to counterattack likely also carried political weight: Zelensky needed to show Western partners that Vladimir Putin was misrepresenting the situation when he claimed his forces had fully captured Kupyansk. (General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov first reported that Russian troops had taken control of the city on November 20.)

Open-source videos from the area indicate that Russian troops still hold positions in central Kupyansk. The front line inside the city remains fluid and difficult to define. Russian forces also maintain positions in the eastern half of the city and are pressing Ukrainian bridgeheads on the eastern bank of the Oskil, trying to reach the crossings near Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi and Borova.

Additionally, Russian units are attempting to link their bridgehead on the western bank to the road leading from Russia through the Ukrainian town of Dvorichna. If they succeed, it would improve supply lines, allow reinforcements to move in, and enable renewed attacks on Kupyansk.

Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad

The situation around Pokrovsk remains critical for the AFU. Although Ukrainian assault units are infiltrating the city through its northern outskirts, Russian forces control nearly all of Pokrovsk’s districts. Meanwhile, a significant Ukrainian force remains in neighboring Myrnohrad, forced to fight under conditions approaching encirclement. Russian units are digging in between Pokrovsk and Rodynske, on the former supply route of the Myrnohrad garrison. Furthermore, fighting continues for the village of Rivne, which was previously a vital logistics hub for the AFU.

Russian assault units have penetrated the center of Myrnohrad from the east. They are also approaching the city from the south.

Northwest of Pokrovsk, Russian troops continue to attack the outskirts of Hryshyne — the AFU’s main rear base in the area. The Russian command is likely pulling reserves to this area; units of the 76th Air Assault division, which were withdrawn to recuperate after the battle for Sudzha, are reportedly attacking the village. However, this has yet to be reliably confirmed.

Hulyaipole and the Haichur River

In late fall, Ukrainian forces began retreating across the Haichur River along the stretch from Hulyaipole to the confluence with its tributary, the Yanchur. The plan appears to have been to mount a strong defense along the riverbank, but it did not hold. Russian forces have now crossed the Haichur River twice, right within the city limits of Hulyaipole. With the help of newly deployed reserves, Ukrainian forces continue to hold the city center, though the situation continues to deteriorate.

Should Russian forces cross the Haichur River on a broad front (as they did with the Yanchur several months ago), they will threaten to envelop the AFU’s main “fortress” in the center of the Zaporizhzhia region — the city of Orikhiv — from the east. Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attempts to approach the city from the south and west throughout the summer and the fall. However, a push from the east by the powerful “Vostok” contingent will be harder to contain.

Meduza is careful in working with data, but mistakes are still possible, and perhaps even inevitable. If you spot one, please let us know by sending an email to reports@meduza.io. Thank you!

Meduza’s Razbor (“Explainers”) team