22 Months of Slaughter! Russia’s Kupiansk Disaster!

Kupiansk has emerged as one of the most punishing battlefields of the war, where Russia’s hopes of a breakthrough have dissolved into relentless attrition. Instead of decisive breakthroughs, Moscow’s commanders find themselves trapped in a cycle of attrition, trading brigades for little more than ruined villages and impassable forests. What was once envisioned as the gateway to Kharkiv and a lever to destabilize Ukraine’s northern defenses has instead hardened into one of the most punishing killing grounds of the conflict. The longer the campaign drags on, the more glaring Russia’s structural weaknesses become: stretched supply lines, battered units, and tactical rigidity. Ukraine, in contrast, has adapted the battlefield into a system of interlocking ambush zones where drones, artillery, and light infantry bleed Russian formations dry. Against this backdrop, suspicion and irony now surround the man commanding Russia’s efforts — a former Ukrainian officer whose role raises uncomfortable questions about loyalty, competence, and the true nature of the disaster unfolding at Kupiansk.

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