Russian Western Grouping of Forces (Zapad)

Force in Play

Conducting offensive operations toward Kupiansk

Russian forces have spent more than two years trying to recapture Kupiansk, a railway hub they lost in five days during Ukraine's 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive. On February 9, 2026, Russian troops launched a mechanized assault east of the city, claiming to have captured the villages of Petropavlivka and Stepova Novoselivka—though Ukrainian forces reported repelling multiple attacks in the same area. The contested advance continues a pattern of Russian claims that outpace verified territorial control.

Updated Feb 9