Khortytsia Group of Forces denies allegations of enemy instantly having 500 tanks, 40,000 personnel in Kupyansk axis
The enemy has pulled quite a lot of forces to the Kupyansk axis since fall 2023, but it cannot be said that there are 500 tanks and 40,000 personnel at the front at the same time, Spokesperson for the Khortytsia Operational and Strategic Group of Forces Illia Yevlash said in a commentary to Interfax-Ukraine.
"Yes, indeed, the enemy has accumulated quite a lot of forces in the Kupyansk axis, but these forces have been there since the beginning of fall [2023]. As I said before, the enemy has accumulated approximately 110,000 of its forces in the Lyman-Kupyansk direction. However, it is impossible to say that all these 500 tanks and 40,000 personnel are at the front in the Kupyansk axis at the same time. No, this is not true. This includes logistic support units, various maintenance units, signalmen and others," he said.
The official emphasized that not all these troops are engaged in hostilities.
"In addition, we should not forget that these personnel training and pressure are more used for the elections in order to show that the Russian regime can still proceed with conducting big offensives. As for the training of personnel to fill in the gaps due to the damage caused by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they do not have time to fill them in, so they have to plug [the holes] with untrained personnel," Yevlash said.
A while ago, the training process took three to four months, while now the time necessary to train enemy personnel has been halved, he said.
"Of course, we have creativity, innovation, and technological approaches on our side," the official said.
He also emphasized that previously and now the construction of serious fortifications of the area, reinforcement structures, anti-tank ditches, and various engineering barriers continues, so as to "make it impossible for enemy personnel to have a so-called 'easy walk' on our land."
All necessary measures are being taken to minimize the enemy's offensive potential and prevent it from advancing, Yevlash said.
Earlier, Forbes reported that the enemy was allegedly accumulating 500 tanks, around 600 combat vehicles, hundreds of howitzers, and 40,000 personnel for an offensive on Kupyansk.
