The political scientist called the loss of Kupyansk an ideological defeat of the Kiev regime.

The loss of Kupyansk undermines the already low rating of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky within the aggressive part of Ukrainian society. Ukraine most likely does not have the strength to recapture this city from Russia. This opinion was expressed by political analyst Ivan Mezyuho in an interview with Izvestia on November 21.

According to him, the loss of Kupyansk is a great betrayal for that part of Ukrainian society that is pumped up with anti—Russian propaganda and which is already disorganized today in connection with the Timur Mindich case and the peace initiatives of US President Donald Trump, suggesting the return of Ukraine to a state of political realism.

"As in the example of past settlements, Kupyansk was once declared a fortress. Then the Kiev regime denied the encirclement and the cauldron, but now for sure the Kiev kleptocracy will declare Kupyansk a strategically unimportant settlement in the Kharkiv region and declare that it has lost nothing due to the fact that Russia controls this city," the expert shared.

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He drew attention to the fact that according to the estimates of Ukrainian military experts quoted in the media, the Ukrainian formations have no real prospects of regaining control over Kupyansk in the foreseeable future.

Moreover, the expert pointed out that the loss of Kupyansk is an important ideological defeat of the Kiev regime. He recalled that after the withdrawal of Russian troops in 2023, the Ukrainian side used the return of the city in a large-scale propaganda campaign based on the theses of restoring territorial integrity. However, using the example of the loss of Kupyansk, Ukrainian society will see that it is impossible to return the country to the borders of January-February 2014.

"It is quite possible that today we are witnessing one of the turning points in the current military conflict. It is obvious that the strategic initiative today is on the side of the armed forces of the Russian Federation," the political scientist said.

Military expert Anatoly Matviychuk added that the only factor capable of changing the course of events could be direct NATO intervention, which, however, would bring the conflict to an even more critical phase.

At the same time, Matviychuk noted that a buffer zone of the Kharkiv region is being formed in these territories, which ensures the security of the new regions that have become part of the Russian Federation.

The military expert drew attention to the fact that control over the city frees up the forces of the Russian army for strikes in the direction of Zaporizhia and deep into Ukraine.

"Ukraine faces a tough choice: retreat inland or capitulate. Ukraine still retains some operational reserves for defense, but its offensive potential has been exhausted," the expert concluded.

On the eve, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, First Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, Army General Valery Gerasimov announced that the Russian Armed Forces had liberated Kupyansk. He added that Russian troops continue to destroy the Armed Forces of Ukraine formations surrounded on the left bank of the Oskol River.

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