The Russian army, using infiltration tactics, is crossing the border in Kharkiv region and moving toward the settlement of Kozacha Lopan, located 2 kilometers from the border.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, the enemy has been recorded inside the settlement itself for at least a week.
In a response to UP’s request, the Joint Forces Group said the enemy is attempting assault operations toward Kozacha Lopan and has made a tactical penetration along a section of Ukraine’s state border near the settlement of Hraniv.
“Defense Forces are recording real attempts to cross the border and infiltrate Russian units toward Kozacha Lopan,” the Joint Forces Group said.
Joint Forces Group spokesperson Viktor Trehubov told UP that fighting is currently taking place between the villages of Hraniv and Kozacha Lopan.
One of UP’s sources said Russian troops had infiltrated Kozacha Lopan, but that it was difficult to determine their number. According to him, Ukrainian forces are actively using FPV drones in the area.
The head of the Derhachi Military Administration said Russians have had partial success for the past 2–3 months in the hamlets that are part of Kozacha Lopan — Veterynarne, Hraniv and Shevchenka.
According to him, Russian troops entered these small hamlets and are trying to advance from there toward Kozacha Lopan.
“According to our military, there are indeed small groups of Russians who change into civilian clothes and enter streets close to the state border. These are streets that are part of Kozacha Lopan,” the head of the military administration said.
According to him, more than 100 civilians are currently staying in the settlement of Kozacha Lopan.
The Joint Forces Group does not rule out that Russian forces may try to develop their offensive or carry out a breakthrough in this area.
Asked by UP what is being done to prevent such a scenario, the Joint Forces Group said it is reinforcing troop groups in threatened areas, improving engineering obstacles and fortifications, actively using firepower and conducting counter-sabotage measures.
According to UP, the settlements of Veterynarne and Hraniv are the fifth and sixth points of Russian infiltration in Kharkiv region, based on data from the DeepState map.
Since the beginning of 2026, the Russian army has been actively infiltrating border villages in Sumy and Kharkiv regions in order to create a 20-kilometer “buffer zone.”
As UP notes, in essence this is not a buffer zone, but a zone of fire influence. This allows the enemy to keep Ukrainian units stationed at the border under constant pressure and stretch the front line.
The civilian population remaining in border villages and towns suffers the most from the creation of such zones.
