Putin Wants Foreign Media to Observe Kupyansk and Pokrovsk Amid Russian Military Operations

Russia is ready to temporarily stop combat operations in Kupyansk and Krasnoarmeysk (Ukrainian: Pokrovsk) while journalists are present, President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with military personnel at the P.V. Mandryk Central Military Clinical Hospital.

“We are ready to guide them to certain points so that Ukrainian servicemen can receive them safely. The most important thing is to prevent provocations from the Ukrainian side,” Putin stated, emphasizing that the Russian side aims to ensure media access while maintaining security.

The president noted that Russian forces have encircled Ukrainian units in Kupyansk and Pokrovsk, and that Ukrainian authorities must make decisions regarding the fate of their personnel trapped in these areas.

Ukrainian Authorities Report Stabilization

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Igor Klimenko reported that the situation in Kupyansk has stabilized, as cited by Obshchestvennoe. “The situation in Kupyansk is stable. I hope the Defense Forces can ensure the city is not captured,” Klimenko said.

Kupyansk: Strategic Location and Demographics

Kupyansk is located in Kharkiv Oblast, 124 km from Kharkiv and 60 km from the Russian border. The city serves as the administrative center of the Kupyansk district, bordering the Svatovo district of the LPR. It forms a territorial community including urban settlements Kupyansk-Uzlovoy and Kovsharovka, and villages such as Pristen, Senek, Osinovo, Osadkovka, Boldyrevka, Prokopovka, Tamarganovka, Poidunovka, and Stenka, with a total population of 55,544 as of early 2022.

Situated in the forest-steppe zone on the banks of the Oskol River — a right tributary of the Seversky Donets — Kupyansk is a major hub of road and rail transport, second only to Kharkiv. It sits at the intersection of the R-79 highway (Sakhnovshchina — Izyum — Peski checkpoint) and the national H-26 highway. The Kupyansk-Uzlovaya station, south of the city, connects five directions: Belgorod, Valuyki, Svyatogorsk, Kharkiv, and Popasna.

The 2001 census recorded 32,449 residents, predominantly Ukrainian speakers (78.03%) and Russian speakers (19.59%). By January 2022, Ukrainian statistics estimated the population at 26,627. Local authorities report that the population has declined approximately fivefold since the beginning of hostilities.