Ukraine, Kiev army denies Putin’s claims: ‘Kupyansk encirclement is pure fantasy’

Milan, 29 October (LaPresse) – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement about the alleged encirclement of Kupyansk is ‘fiction and fantasy’. This is according to the Ukrainian armed forces, in a statement reported by RBC Ukraine. Intense fighting is ongoing in Kupiansk and the surrounding area, as the occupiers attempt to gain a foothold in the northern part of the city, according to the Kiev forces, adding that ‘however, any statement about the encirclement of Ukrainian forces in that area is fiction and fantasy that has no basis in fact.’ Not even ‘his loyal audience and the Russian elite’ would believe his lies, the statement added, referring to Putin. Today, the Russian president spoke of an encirclement of Ukrainian forces in Kupyansk, expressing his desire to invite foreign journalists to the city so that they could ‘see everything with their own eyes’.