Russia appointed traitor from Kharkiv region to lead offensive on Kupyansk – Ukrainian Armed Forces spokesman

Russia has appointed a former Ukrainian officer, Serhiy Storozhenko, who was born in Kharkiv region and sided with the occupiers in Crimea in 2014, to command the Russian offensive in the Kupyansk direction. Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Dnipro Operational and Strategic Group of Troops, said this in a comment to LIGA.net.

According to him, the Russian army has created the "Kharkiv" group of troops on the basis of the "North" group of troops, which will include the Sixth Combined Arms Army, as well as the 11th and 44th Army Corps.

The Dnipro spokesperson noted that the main task of the newly created group is likely to be to conduct offensive operations in the Kharkiv region. The occupiers appointed Lieutenant General Storozhenko as the commander of Kharkiv. In the occupation army, according to Russian propagandists, his official position is Deputy Commander of the Leningrad Military District.

Voloshyn, citing data from open sources and information from Russian Z-bloggers and Ukrainian analysts, added that the Sixth Combined Arms Army plays a major role in the fighting in the Kupyansk sector and the storming of Kupyansk.

Prior to the invasion, it was stationed in the Leningrad region and was part of the "North" group of troops. The Sixth Combined Arms Army is commanded by Storozhenko.

Storozhenko is from Kharkiv region. He was born in 1975 in the village of Murafa, Bohodukhiv district. His family members live in Sumy and the border areas of the Kharkiv region.

In 2014, Storozhenko commanded the 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, based in Perevalne (Crimea).

When Russian troops occupied the peninsula and entered Perevalne in March 2014, Storozhenko failed to comply with a direct order from the state leadership to defend the military unit and surrendered the largest unit in Crimea to the occupiers. The brigadier ordered the soldiers to lay down their arms. Instead, the personnel were given shields and batons. The soldiers, who were faithful to their oath, were brought to the mainland of Ukraine.

Storozhenko himself joined the Russians. He was the commander of the 126th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. He was then appointed Deputy Commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet for Land and Coastal Forces.

At the time of the full-scale invasion, he was the first deputy commander of the 35th Combined Arms Army.

• On August 29, 2025, Zelensky announced successful search operations in Kupiansk, 30 Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were destroyed in two days.
• On September 3, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency denied information about the occupation of half of Kupiansk.
• On September 13, the General Staff reported that the exit from the pipeline, which the Russians used to move personnel to Kupyansk, is under the control of Ukrainian defenders.