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“It’s Like Whack-a-Mole”: Ukraine Foils Russian Infiltrations and Tightens Control Over Kupiansk
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Ukrainian forces are gradually tightening control over Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, thwarting Russia’s attempts to use the city as leverage in potential peace negotiations, The Washington Post reported on January 19, citing Ukrainian military officials.
According to the report, Russian troops continue to infiltrate Kupiansk in small groups but are taking losses and failing to gain a foothold. In particular, Russian forces have been attempting to enter the city via the river and through an empty gas pipeline, using it as a concealed route. Ukrainian drones monitor these movements and strike sabotage groups as they emerge.
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“It’s like whack-a-mole,” Maksym Holubok, chief of staff of the Khartiia Brigade, said. “We’re holding a hammer and those moles keep popping up.”
Despite persistent attempts to break through, Russian forces have not managed to fully seize Kupiansk. Ukrainian commanders say these are isolated incursions rather than control over territory.
As the Washington Post notes, Russia viewed Kupiansk as a potential bargaining chip in negotiations, hoping to pressure Kyiv into territorial concessions. Ukrainian battlefield successes have effectively undercut that scenario.
“We understand that we need to create proper conditions to give our president more leverage at the talks, because our foreign policy is primarily based on our success on the battlefield,” said Golubok.
According to him, success in Kupiansk “gives our president one of those cards.”
Fighting continues in the central parts of the city in the form of small-unit engagements. Supplies, evacuations, and fire support are carried out mainly using drones. A Khartiia Brigade lieutenant colonel with the call sign Abat said:
“If they have anything, it’s human resources. The way I use drones, they use humans. They’re being pushed out of the pipeline, just to try to test us. If they throw in 10, they know maybe two will get to a position,” a Khartiia Brigade lieutenant colonel with the call sign Abat told The Washington Post.
Ukrainian troops acknowledge that due to the city’s size and complex urban layout, a full clearance of Kupiansk could take several more months. Russian soldiers are hiding in basements, under stairwells, and in small shelters.
“Kupiansk is a big city. Even 100 people in basements, you can search for them for months,” said Vitalii, a drone unit commander in the Achilles Brigade.
At the same time, he stressed that Russia has not brought heavy equipment into the city, and the area of its presence is limited to about one square kilometer.
“Unfortunately, there aren’t more of them,” he added.
Earlier, it was reported that Russia’s top military command is misrepresenting the situation on the ground and significantly exaggerating the scale of its territorial advances in the war against Ukraine.
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-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-e0910389cad73b05786999d632bb53d6.jpg "Damaged Russian submarine in the Novorossiysk naval base, January 19, 2026. (Source: kromark/X)")
