Russia’s defense ministry announced on September 29 that Russian forces have taken control of the town of Makiivka in the Luhansk region. However, officials in Kyiv have not yet commented on these claims, and The Epoch Times has been unable to independently verify them. If true, the capture of Makiivka would bring Russia closer to gaining control over the entire Donbas region, where they have made significant advances in recent weeks. Moscow has long sought to control Donbas since its invasion of eastern Ukraine in early 2022.
On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin marked the second anniversary of the annexation of Luhansk and Donetsk by describing it as a “momentous event” and expressing confidence that all their goals will be achieved.
Makiivka is located about 35 miles southeast of Kupiansk, which is considered the administrative capital of Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region. Kyiv claims that its forces successfully repelled a “massive” Russian attack in Kupiansk last week. According to Ukraine’s defense ministry, Ukrainian drone operators destroyed or damaged 40 Russian vehicles during this attack.
Furthermore, Kyiv reported another success on September 30 when its military stated that Ukrainian air defenses had successfully defended the capital against multiple Russian drone attacks. Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said that all incoming drones were either shot down by Ukrainian air defenses or neutralized by electronic jamming systems.
Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry did not mention any reported drone attacks in their daily briefing for September 30.
Over the weekend, Russia claimed to have foiled renewed attempts by Ukrainian troops and armored vehicles to enter Russia’s western Kursk region near Novy Put village. The defense ministry stated that Russian troops backed by aircraft and artillery had thwarted multiple incursions into this area. They reported casualties among Ukrainian troops and claimed at least one tank was destroyed during these attempted incursions.
Novy Put is approximately 50 miles west of Sudzha—a crucial transit hub for Russian natural gas—and shares a border with northeastern Ukraine’s Kursk region. Last month saw Ukrainian forces gain control over several Russian settlements within Kursk but faced a fierce counter-offensive from Moscow aimed at expelling them from Russian territory.
According to Apty Alaudinov from Russia’s defense ministry last week: while Ukraine had lost most resources sent into Kursk; it would likely take a couple more months before fully expelling invaders from this border region.
