According to him, the invaders need control along the Ukrainian-Russian border in order to advance deep into the territory of Ukraine “to begin with, at a distance of one to five kilometers.”
Tregubov emphasized that the Russians did not achieve significant results in the Kharkov direction.
“The second task is the city of Kupyansk, which they have “settled” in, which they really want to take control of, and on which they are spending, I would say, disproportionate efforts,” he said.
The speaker of the grouping of joint forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noted that the “third and most important task” of the invaders in the Kharkov region is the Liman direction of the front, from where the Russians are trying to advance towards the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration of the Donetsk region.
“This agglomeration itself is of decisive, very key strategic importance for the defense of the northern Donbass. It’s not so much the Kharkov region, it really affects the Donetsk region, they just bypass it through the Lugansk and Kharkov regions. These are the tasks the Russians have and are trying to achieve,” Tregubov explained.
He also denied statements from the Russian Federation about the alleged capture by its troops of Kupyansk-Uzlovoy and the supposed encirclement of “15 Ukrainian battalions” in this area.
“They can’t reach him normally, although they hit him with various remote means. […] You have to understand that Kupyansk-Uzlovoy is 4 km², and 15 battalions will fit there only if you put a man on a man’s head – like six times, or something like that. Again, these are fantasies,” Tregubov said.
Context
On January 3, Tregubov reported that the Russians have the task of capturing Kupyansk before February.
