VIDEO The Ukrainian army announces that it has encircled the Russian troops in Kupiansk. Image shot by Zelenski right on the front: How it was filmed

Ukrainian forces announced they had recaptured parts of the town of Kupiansk, located in the northeastern Kharkiv region, and encircled Russian troops there, as President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the frontline sector and praised the operation, saying it strengthened Ukraine diplomatically, Reuters reports.

Amid US-backed peace efforts, Moscow said its army was advancing on all fronts and had captured Kupiansk and the strategic city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. Kiev has denied this, saying fighting continues.

In a video posted on his social media account on Friday, Zelenskiy, wearing a bulletproof vest, is seen standing in front of a sign with the city's name at the entrance to Kupiansk. Zelenski is also shown recording the message with his mobile phone.

“Today it is extremely important to achieve results on the front so that Ukraine can achieve results in diplomacy,” Zelenskiy said in the recording.

Russian troops in Kupiansk, “completely isolated”, claims Kiev

The Khartiia Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine announced that it has liberated several districts in the northern part of the city of Kupiansk.

Russian supply routes have been cut and several hundred Russian soldiers are surrounded, Khartiia said in a message posted on the Telegram messaging app.

Reuters says it could not immediately verify information from the battlefield.

“Today, we can say that the Russians in the city are completely isolated. For a long time, they could not understand what was happening. But now they know that they are surrounded,” said Igor Obolienski, commander of the Khartiia corps, quoted by the Ukrainska Pravda publication.

Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, did not immediately comment on Kiev's claims.

Ukraine's DeepState platform, a project mapping the frontline situation based on verified open-source imagery and sources inside the Ukrainian military, now shows that at least three villages north and west of the city of Kupiansk are under the control of Ukrainian troops.

The northern districts of the city of Kupiansk are also indicated as being under Ukrainian control, and the map suggests that Russian troops are encircled in the center of the city.

Military analysts say that in November, the pace of the Russian army's advance reached its highest level this year as its troops advanced, taking control of smaller villages.

Moscow said on Thursday it had captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Siversk. Kiev said it remains under the control of its forces.