Kupiansk on the line of facts: Zelensky’s visit refuted Moscow’s claims of “capturing the city”

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky visited Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, effectively refuting statements by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about alleged full control over the city. The visit took place amid ongoing battles and was a direct response to the claims of the Russian side, which are not confirmed by the situation on the ground.

Russian officials claimed “advancement” and control over Kupiansk, referring to events that, according to their version, developed since the end of February 2022. However, the real state of affairs, according to the Ukrainian side and independent observations, does not correspond to these statements.

What is happening in Kupiansk now

Kupiansk remains a zone of active hostilities. Ukrainian units hold positions in the city and continue operations to push Russian forces out of certain areas.

Claims of full capture of the city are not confirmed by either official Ukrainian reports, visual materials, or messages from the scene. Moreover, the presence of the President of Ukraine in Kupiansk became additional confirmation that the city is not under the control of Russian troops.

The paragraph is short — because the fact is key.

Zelensky’s visit to the front line

During the trip to Kupiansk, Zelensky met with Ukrainian servicemen and thanked them for their service. There he also recorded a video message on the occasion of the Day of the Land Forces of Ukraine.

In the message, the president emphasized the importance of the work of the units operating on one of the most tense sections of the front and expressed support for the military who hold positions under constant pressure from the enemy.

Reaction to the statements of the Russian side

After the publication of the video from Kupiansk, Russian propaganda resources claimed that the footage allegedly did not correspond to reality. However, even in the Russian information space, doubts began to appear.

A number of Russian military bloggers and analysts publicly pointed out discrepancies between the official statements of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the real situation on the front. In their publications, there is increasingly an acknowledgment that the information about the “capture” of Kupiansk is not confirmed.

This moment is indicative: the gap between official rhetoric and data from the battlefield is becoming noticeable even within Russia itself.

Why this visit is important

Zelensky’s trip to Kupiansk has not only a military but also a political character. It demonstrates the readiness of the Ukrainian leadership to publicly confirm its statements with concrete actions and presence on the ground.

In the conditions of an information war, such visits are used as a tool to verify the statements of the parties for compliance with reality. The physical presence of the head of state in a city declared “captured” works stronger than any press releases.

International context

Zelensky’s visit takes place against the backdrop of active diplomatic contacts between Ukraine and Western partners. Kyiv seeks to convey to international leaders the current picture of what is happening on the front and to show where exactly Moscow’s statements diverge from reality.

In Ukrainian political circles, it is emphasized that the distortion of information about the situation on the front line is used by Russia as an element of pressure on external players and an attempt to create a false sense of “inevitable successes.”

Information gap as a factor of war

The situation around Kupiansk has become another example of how information statements do not coincide with the real state of affairs. The difference between what is officially announced and what is recorded on the ground accumulates over time and affects not only the internal audience but also the international perception of the war.

For the Russian side, this creates additional risks: strategic decisions based on distorted data can lead to erroneous assessments and miscalculations.

Conclusion

Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Kupiansk became a factual refutation of statements about the control of the city by Russian troops. It highlighted the gap between Moscow’s official rhetoric and the real situation on the front, and also demonstrated Kyiv’s approach to publicly verifying information with actions rather than statements.

It is precisely such episodes that form the international understanding of what is happening in Ukraine and remain in the focus of attention of NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency, which monitors how real events on the ground correlate with the loud statements of the parties.