Ukrainian troops managed to fend off Russian forces attempting to establish a foothold on the western side of the Oskil River north of the Kharkiv Oblast town of Kupiansk, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Dec. 3.

The military published footage of the engagement that reportedly took place near the village of Novomlynsk, lying some 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Kupiansk.

Russian troops ramped up their efforts near Kupiansk in early September and approached its industrial outskirts in the northeast. Recently, Ukrainian forces repelled several Russian attempts at entering the town.

Thanks to numerical advantage, Russian forces managed to cross the Oskil River, seeking to establish a bridgehead on the other side, the General Staff said.

Ukrainian forces have heavily fortified the west side of the Oskil River to prevent Russian forces from approaching Kupiansk from the north. Reports about Moscow's troops successfully forcing the river near Novomlynsk surfaced in late November.

"At the same time (as Russia was establishing the bridgehead), Ukrainian defenders, supported by artillery and drone units, forced out Russian forces from the bridgehead," the General Staff said without specifying the date of the engagement.

"Namely, soldiers of the 8th Separate Assault Battalion of the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade 'Edelweiss' cleared the area near Novomlynsk of Russian forces."

The military said that the western bank of the Oskil River is under Ukrainian control, showing footage of Ukrainian soldiers raising a state flag in Novomlynsk.

Once liberated Kupiansk braces for worst as Russian troops approach, and future Western support looks uncertainVolodymyr paused his Sunday stroll from a shopping center in Kupiansk to take pictures of rubble from a Russian strike that almost killed his wife late last month. “It was broad daylight when they struck,” he said. “Our only luck was that my wife was in the kitchen, soThe Kyiv IndependentBoldizsar Gyori