The Russians have made some progress in the gray zone near Kozacha Lopana — Tregubov

In the Joint Forces Operation area of responsibility, Russian troops are attempting to intensify pressure along the state border. Over the past 24 hours, there have been between 10 and 12 combat engagements in this sector.

At the same time, near Kozacha Lopana in the Kharkiv region, the occupiers managed to advance slightly into the gray zone. This was reported by Viktor Tregubov, spokesperson for the Joint Forces Operation.

“In recent days, we’ve had about 10 to 12 combat engagements per day in our area of responsibility—which extends from eastern Sumy Oblast to the Kupiansk direction, inclusive. The enemy is trying to apply pressure along the border and infiltrate along the line of contact. They haven’t been very successful so far—the weather isn’t helping, either, since there are no longer any leaves on the trees, so the enemy can’t infiltrate very effectively. Although there have been some attempts—and even a slight expansion in the Kozacha Lopana area—the enemy has still managed to push a little further into the red zone at the expense of the gray zone, which is, of course, a negative development. “But overall, the enemy’s efforts are disproportionate to the results they achieve,” Tregubov noted.

He emphasized that the enemy’s tactics have not fundamentally changed since drones began operating on the fiber-optic network. After all, the Russians are currently unable to deploy heavy equipment.

“As soon as drones appeared on the fiber-optic lines, heavy equipment disappeared. That was a major change; it happened a year and a half ago, and since then we haven’t seen any technological changes that would have such an impact on the battlefield. Since then, the only effective tactic for the Russians has been infiltration by small groups,” the spokesperson explained.

When asked whether the enemy would expand its use of gas pipelines to advance deeper into Ukrainian territory, Tregubov noted that the enemy would not be able to scale this up, since gas pipelines are not everywhere.

“There’s nowhere to scale it up because there are no major gas pipelines—they’re not in every village. In the Kupiansk region, they’re using them simply because the opportunity exists there; there’s a major gas pipeline through which they could actually move infantry. That’s where they used it. But this isn’t a tactic that can be replicated in areas lacking the necessary infrastructure,” the spokesperson explained.

Tregubov also reported that the situation in the Kupiansk area has not changed significantly, but the enemy has begun to operate more actively in the direction of the village of Radkivka.

“The Russians have now begun to advance more aggressively toward the village of Radkivka—which is on the right bank, north of Kupiansk and west of Holubivka. Whereas previously they mostly moved troops through Holubivka, they now clearly have a plan to advance on Radkivka and approach from a slightly different direction—that is, still heading toward Kupiansk, but not directly from the north—rather, I’d say, from the northwest. That’s where they’ve been directing their main offensive efforts over the past week. But without success,” Tregubov said.

The spokesperson noted that, at present, there are no signs of the enemy preparing for active assault operations; they are merely maintaining constant pressure on the Kupiansk sector.

This was stated on television by Viktor Tregubov, spokesperson for the Joint Forces Operation.

DeepState has documented the advance of Russian troops in the Pokrovsk direction.

The total combat losses of the Russian army since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine—from February 24, 2022, to October 30, 2026—amount to approximately 1,586,500 soldiers.