Ukraine Denies Capture of Siversk
"No Decision Made on Establishing a DMZ"
The Ukrainian military announced on December 12 (local time) that it had recaptured parts of the city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast in eastern Ukraine, as well as nearby villages.
According to the local media outlet Ukrainska Pravda, the Khartia Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard stated via Telegram that Russian supply lines in the area had been cut off and that hundreds of Russian soldiers were now surrounded.
Commander Ihor Obolensky said, "For a long time, they (the Russian forces) did not know what was happening, but now they have realized they are surrounded."
Ukraine also refuted Russia's claim that it had taken control of Siversk in Donetsk Oblast, stating that this was not true. Siversk is a city close to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, which remain under Ukrainian control.
Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 11 that Siversk had been fully captured. However, Ukraine's Eastern Command stated that the area remains under Ukrainian military control.
The U.S. think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed in its December 11 report that Ukrainian forces had recently advanced near Pokrovsk, while Russian forces had made advances in the northern part of Kharkiv Oblast and in the tactical areas of Kostiantynivka and Druzhkivka. In ceasefire negotiations mediated by the Donald Trump administration, the eastern Donbas region, including Donetsk Oblast, remains a key issue. Russia often announces successes in major cities such as Pokrovsk, while Ukraine counters by stating that these claims are not true.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on December 11 that the United States had proposed the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas and the demilitarization of the area under the name of a "free economic zone."
President Zelensky expressed a negative stance toward the U.S. proposal, stating that if Ukrainian forces were to withdraw, Russian forces would have to withdraw to the same extent, and that territorial matters should be decided directly by the Ukrainian people.
The Office of the President of Ukraine also denied on December 12 reports by some media outlets that the government had, in principle, agreed to establish a buffer or demilitarized zone in Donbas, saying that no political decision had been made regarding this matter.
The French daily Le Monde reported the previous afternoon that Ukraine had agreed to the establishment of a demilitarized zone in Donbas, thereby accepting a key issue in negotiations with the United States and Russia.
In response, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, said in an interview with the local media Kyiv Post, "At the moment, discussions are purely theoretical," adding, "In any negotiation process, all possible options are discussed, including the possibility of halting the war directly along the line of contact."
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