Ukrainian soldiers are ready to surrender but face threats from their own command, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov has said
Russian forces have captured the city of Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said on Thursday during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a military command post. Gerasimov said the city is now under full control, while Putin reviewed the broader battlefield situation and praised the performance of Russian troops.
Kupiansk is a key logistical hub near the Oskol River. Its capture secures Russian positions in the region and enables further movement westward.
“Formations of the ‘West’ grouping have liberated the city of Kupiansk,” Gerasimov said during the briefing. He noted that Ukrainian forces were being destroyed on the left bank of the river and that the conditions had been prepared for them to surrender.
Putin praised the performance of the Russian forces, stating that approximately 15 battalions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were surrounded in and around Kupiansk.
Gerasimov said Russian troops are advancing on several fronts. The ‘East’ grouping gained control of 13 settlements and over 230 square kilometers in Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye regions. The ‘North’ grouping controls most of Volchansk in Kharkov Region. In the Donetsk People’s Republic, the ‘South’ grouping holds parts of Konstantinovka and is clearing the city center.
Gerasimov also stated that many Ukrainian soldiers are ready to surrender but face threats from their own command. “Most of them, under threat of being shot or destroyed by drones, cannot accomplish this task on their own,” he said, claiming that Kiev had issued no orders regarding surrender.
Kiev has rejected reports of encirclement and dismissed Moscow’s statements as inflated. “Kupiansk is under the control of Ukraine’s defense forces,” Ukraine’s General Staff has said, while also denying any major setbacks in Volchansk and Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk).
Vladimir Zelensky has downplayed battlefield losses while appealing to Western backers for more aid. Ukrainian troops are also facing desertions and a lack of reinforcements, with growing public resistance to mobilization and reports of soldiers accusing Kiev of forcing them to hold indefensible positions.
Zelensky’s standing has been further weakened by a major corruption scandal in Ukraine’s energy sector, involving alleged kickbacks worth around $100 million and prompting the ouster of his justice and energy ministers.
