Eastern Grouping: Russia ramps up offensive towards Lyman, Kupiansk with over 100,000 troops

Russia has concentrated over 100,000 troops in the Kupiansk-Lyman direction of the front in Kharkiv Oblast and Luhansk Oblast, Eastern Force Grouping press officer Illia Yevlash said on Aug. 27.

These troops have significantly intensified their rate of shelling and aistrikes against Ukrainian positions, according to Yevlash.

He said there are 45,000 soldiers specifically attacking towards Kupiansk and 48,000 towards Lyman.    

Both these towns had been occupied by Russian forces before being liberated last year.

In recent months, Russia has increased pressure on this part of the front. Troops near Kupiansk who spoke to the Kyiv Independent said that Russia was intensifying its offensive in the area.

British intelligence reported that Ukraine's counteroffensives to the south and around Bakhmut are putting Russian troops there under strain. However, around Lyman and Kupiansk, Russians are making progress.

Russia may try to advance towards the Oskil River and create a buffer zone for occupied Luhansk Oblast.

Pro-Russian sympathies make life harder for soldiers, cops in Kupiansk district

Editor’s note: Some soldiers, local police officers and residents of Kupiansk district, Kharkiv Oblast, are not identified by name due to security concerns. All of the reporting and interviewing for this story was completed before the order was announced on Aug. 10 to evacuate 12,000 district reside…

The Kyiv IndependentIgor Kossov