In recent weeks, senior Russian officials have claimed significant progress on the battlefield in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has even cited that progress in support of his reluctance to negotiate for a peaceful resolution to the nearly four-year conflict.  

However, not everything on the ground is going as the Kremlin is describing. Indeed, amid stories of Russian progress in several parts of the frontline, the Ukrainian military launched a localized counteroffensive around a key city.  

Earlier in December, the Ukrainian military launched a counteroffensive in the northwest part of Kupiansk.  

“In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have conducted clearance operations in the town and contested Russian logistics supply operations in the vicinity,” the British Ministry of Defence assessed in a recent intelligence update on the course of the fighting.  

© The National Interest