Ukrainian forces are using drone operations and underground infrastructure to prevent Russian troops from establishing positions north of Kupyansk and infiltrating the city.

Axar.az reports, citing the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), that Ukrainian drone operations are denying Russian forces a staging ground for infiltration missions into Kupyansk from the north.

Ukrainian Joint Forces Group spokesperson Colonel Viktor Trehubov said Russian troops were moving through Holubivka, north of Kupyansk, to reach the city but were not permanently stationed in the settlement.

Trehubov also said Russian forces rarely managed to enter Radkivka, west of Holubivka and north of Kupyansk, and typically did so only during poor weather conditions. ISW assessed that Ukrainian drone operations were preventing Russian troops from establishing control over Radkivka.

Meanwhile, a source reporting on Russia’s Western Grouping of Forces claimed on October 23 that Ukrainian troops had taken control of a section of an underground pipeline extending from Radkivka to a point northeast of Holubivka, where the pipeline passes beneath the Oskil River.

The source claimed that Ukrainian control of the pipeline in this area prevented Russian forces from reaching the northern part of Kupyansk. It also said Ukrainian forces maintained drone air superiority in the area, preventing Russian troops from using open terrain for infiltration missions into the city.