Russian troops seem to be on the verge of losing their hold on Kupyansk, a northeastern Ukrainian city, with only a handful of isolated soldiers remaining. Even proponents of the Kremlin are beginning to acknowledge this setback, according to recent reports.

The Kyiv Post reported on Thursday that Ukrainian military officials have observed that Russian units still within the city are essentially cut off from their usual supply routes. As their situation becomes increasingly dire, these troops are surrendering more frequently.

Viktor Trehubov, who leads communications for Ukraine’s Joint Forces, revealed that the number of Russian forces in Kupyansk has dwindled to just a few dozen, including some foreign mercenaries who are fighting alongside Russian troops.

“They are surrendering,” Trehubov stated during a televised briefing aired by Ukrainian state media. He added, “There have even been instances where foreign mercenaries fighting for the Russians have turned themselves in.”

As the conflict continues, an evacuation van was seen navigating the heavily damaged frontline city of Kupyansk on January 6, 2025. (Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu via Getty Images)

According to Ukrainian officials, the remaining Russian units are surviving largely on limited air resupply, a tactic that cannot sustain long-term operations inside the city.

“Supply by air bridge alone is not something that allows them to hold out for long,” Trehubov said.

While Russian forces continue to launch multiple assaults along the Kupyansk axis each day, Ukrainian officials say those attacks lack the manpower and reserves needed to change the balance on the ground.

A Ukrainian army chaplain talks to Ukrainian soldiers in a shelter in the direction of Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, March 13, 2024.  (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“At this stage, they simply do not have additional capabilities to somehow restore the situation,” Trehubov said.

The Kyiv Post also reported that Russian military bloggers and war correspondents have begun openly conceding that Kupyansk is no longer under Russian control, marking a notable shift in Kremlin-aligned messaging.

“An entire wave of messages appeared saying that Kupyansk is gone,” Trehubov said. “Even Russian propagandists have switched to a line acknowledging that the city is no longer under their control.”

Ukrainian officials stressed that Russia never fully reestablished control over Kupyansk after its liberation in September 2022, aside from a brief occupation during the early phase of the invasion.

Ukrainian service members of the 44th artillery brigade fire a 2s22 Bohdana self-propelled howitzer toward Russian positions at the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Aug. 20, 2025. (Danylo Antoniuk/AP Photo)

“In reality, it was never fully taken by them in order to be ‘lost,’ aside from a short period in 2022,” Trehubov said.

Efforts by Russian units to dig in within the city’s northern districts have failed, leaving those forces unable to withdraw or receive reinforcements, Ukrainian officials said.

“They themselves now admit that the defense of the city by the same units that entered and tried to secure positions in the northern districts has failed,” Trehubov said.

Ukrainian soldiers from the 115th Brigade Mortar Unit conduct mortar training as members of the Anti-UAV unit test an FPV drone inhibitor in Lyman, Ukraine. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Combat continues outside the city, particularly from positions across the Oskil River, though Ukrainian forces maintain control of Kupyansk itself.

Ukraine’s General Staff said Russian troops carried out five attacks in the Kupyansk sector Dec. 24, all of which were repelled near Petropavlivka, Pishchane, Zahryzove and Kupyansk.

Trehubov said a recent Ukrainian counteroffensive further disrupted Russian efforts to stabilize the front.

“The counteroffensive came as a surprise for the enemy,” he said. “Right now, they simply lack the resources to regain control.”

Kupyansk, a key rail and road hub in the Kharkiv region with a prewar population of about 27,000, has long been a focal point of Russian territorial claims.

The city was briefly occupied during the opening months of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 before being liberated by Ukrainian forces later that year, a history Ukrainian officials say Moscow has repeatedly tried to obscure through disinformation.