Yurii Fedorenko, commander of the 429th Separate UAV Regiment ACHILLES, stated this on Espreso.“You need to understand that the town of Kupiansk is politically very important for Russia, as it has become one of the symbols of the strength of the Ukrainian military. During the Kharkiv counteroffensive in 2022, Kupiansk was liberated. Since then, the Russians have been trying everything possible and impossible to destroy and capture the town. The deadline Russia set for its troops is August 24. In this way, they want to demonstrate their significance, that they can actively occupy Ukrainian territories and take cities that have become symbols of the strength and power of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. However, in my view, Russian occupiers will not succeed in achieving these objectives in the short term,” Fedorenko said.According to him, the Kupiansk direction remains the only area where the Russian occupying army is using armored vehicles to conduct assault operations.“If we talk about the area of the settlement of Kruhliakivka, across the river, the Russians are trying to expand a wedge, from Synkivka to Zahryzove. The larger the wedge on the left bank of the Oskil River, the more opportunities Russian troops have to bring in reinforcements and take control of the right-bank Kupiansk area. As of today, after a week and a half, Russian forces have made no progress in this direction, they cannot expand this wedge. Further, if we talk about the left bank of Kupiansk and Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, this remains the only direction where Russian invaders are conducting offensive actions using armored vehicles. Previously, they carried out such assaults three times. Last night, they attempted another assault, but their equipment was destroyed by our units before reaching the frontline. Therefore, left-bank Kupiansk and Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi remain under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces,” he concluded.On August 16, Ukraine’s General Staff reported that since the start of Friday, August 15, 139 combat engagements took place on the Russian-Ukrainian front. The Defense Forces repelled 45 Russian attacks in the Pokrovsk sector.