Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the command post of the Russian forces “West” grouping on Thursday (20 November), meeting with Chief of Russia’s General Staff Valery Gerasimov and senior military officials, the Kremlin said.
During the visit, Putin requested updates on ongoing operations, particularly in Kostiantynivka and the Kramatorsk direction. He also focused on efforts to encourage Ukrainian troops to surrender.
The Kremlin said Putin was briefed on the situation across several key areas of eastern Ukraine, including Kupiansk in Kharkiv region. Gerasimov informed him that Russian forces had captured the city.
“Units of the ‘West’ grouping have liberated the city of Kupiansk and are continuing to destroy Ukrainian armed forces units surrounded on the left bank of the Oskol River.”
However Ukraine's military denied the city had changed hands.
Ukraine also dismissed Russian statements that its forces had taken over large parts of two other towns -- Pokrovsk, a logistics hub it has been pressing to capture for months, and Vovchansk, near the Russian border.
Gerasimov also reported significant territorial gains elsewhere, including control of 70% of Pokrovsk and more than 80% of Vovchansk.
The heaviest fighting along the 1,200-km (775-mile) front line was near Pokrovsk, he said, with Ukrainian forces offering "stiff resistance" according to Gerasimov.
A late-evening statement by the Ukrainian military said, "The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces hereby announces that Kupiansk is under the control of Ukraine's defence forces."
"Also untrue are statements suggesting that 80% of Vovchansk in Kharkiv region has been captured and 70% of the city of Pokrovsk," it added.
The general staff reported heavy fighting in the Pokrovsk sector, with Russian forces launching 56 attacks.
Russian forces have been engaged in a slow westward advance through Donetsk region as part of their campaign to capture all of the Donbas - made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Russian forces have also made recent gains further south in Zaporizhzhia region. They currently hold about 19% of Ukraine's territory.
Thousands of Russians are hunting for apartments in Tbilisi and Yerevan - not because of a mobilisati...
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow ear...
Kazakhstan is discussing support for the Trans-Caspian green energy corridor with the European Commission, as work continues on a project to transm...
Oil prices fell after the U.S. expanded economic sanctions on Iran, as Tehran vowed to retaliate and warned it had tools to respond, raising concerns over potential disruption to regional oil supplies.
Rescuers in Nepal used helicopters on Thursday to scour for hundreds still missing after a wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border with China's Tibet, sending catastrophic floods through towns and valleys, killing 162 people.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told allied foreign ministers Washington will focus on sanctions and other pressure on Iran “for the time being”, Axios reports. Meanwhile, Iran and Oman have resumed talks on a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
Kyiv has recently received a small number of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. It comes as Britain and France pledged stronger military support for Ukraine.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for greater economic cooperation among Muslim countries, saying their combined economic weight remains disproportionately small compared with their population, strategic location and resources.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has dismissed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow earlier this week to warn Russia against attacking NATO, dismissing them as "scare stories," which had nothing to do with reality.
Thousands of Russians are hunting for apartments in Tbilisi and Yerevan - not because of a mobilisation order that's been signed, but because of one many fear is coming.
Poland has asked the European Commission to impose a €250 million ($291.3 million) fine on Meta, accusing the technology company of failing to adequately tackle fraudulent advertisements on its platforms.
Ratko Mladić, the former Bosnian Serb military commander convicted of genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, has died, according to a United Nations official.
A glacial collapse that triggered catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday has killed at least 270 people, with more than 1,000 still missing. Here are some of the most devastating glacier-related disasters recorded around the world:
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment