Ukraine LIVE: Zelensky's army on brink of major setback as Russia poised to seize key city

Russian troops are closing in on the capture of a major Ukrainian city in the Kharkiv region, in what would be a huge blow for Kyiv.

Putin's army is reportedly just one to two kilometres from Kupyansk, which was liberated in September 2022 by Ukrainian forces during their counteroffensive.

The Russian-appointed governor for the ocupied parts of Kharkiv region Vitaly Ganchev told Tass news agency that Russian troops are actively advancing in the Kupyansk direction and are trying to encircle a group of Ukrainian Armed Forces in the northern suburbs of the city..

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin's generals are planning a major new summer offensive in Ukraine, as pressure mounts on Kyiv.

According to the military blogger Razvedchik, the Russian General Staff has presented Putin with a plan for an offensive "in the second half of the summer." The blogger added: "The Chief of the General Staff personally informed the President about the readiness for a large-scale phase of the operation in the coming months with an extension beyond the new territories (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, Kherson)."

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