Ukraine Denies Putin’s Claim of Capturing Kozacha Lopan Near Russian Border

Kozacha Lopan, a village in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region just 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the Russian border, remains under the full control of Ukrainian forces, the 14th Army Corps said.

“The latest statements by Russian propagandists and Putin personally about the ‘capture’ of Kozacha Lopan in the Kharkiv region traditionally do not correspond to reality. The settlement is under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces,” the corps said on Telegram.

At the same time, the situation around the village remains tense, with active fighting underway.

“The situation is dynamic. Our troops are holding the designated lines, conducting active defense, and inflicting systematic fire damage on the enemy,” the statement said.

According to the corps, Russian forces have suffered significant losses in the area since active operations began, including 178 soldiers killed and another 210 wounded.

Ukrainian forces said they continue to monitor the situation and urged civilians to rely on official sources for battlefield updates.

The Russian claim comes amid a series of disputed announcements about alleged territorial gains in Ukraine.

Recently, Ukrainian forces also rejected a Russian claim that they had captured Pysarivka in the Sumy region, saying the settlement remains under Ukrainian control and fighting continues in the area.

In late August, Russia’s defense ministry claimed its forces had captured Novokostiantynivka in the Sumy region. Ukraine again rejected the claim, with the Kursk Group of Forces saying on Aug. 25 that it “does not correspond to reality.”

The group accused Russia of routinely claiming battlefield gains that have not occurred on the ground, saying such announcements are increasingly used for domestic propaganda and to report alleged successes to Russia’s leadership.

Ukraine has rejected similar Russian claims before.

In early July, Ukrainian forces denied Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that Russian troops had captured Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, saying the city remained under Ukrainian control as fighting continued.

Kozacha Lopan under Russian occupation

The latest claim about Kozacha Lopan comes years after the village was briefly occupied by Russian forces at the start of the full-scale invasion.

In February 2026, Kyiv Post interviewed former resident Maksym Styuflyaev, who experienced Russian occupation twice. He fled his native Lutuhyne in the Luhansk region in 2014 after Russian forces seized parts of the Donbas. Eight years later, he and his family faced Russian troops again in Kozacha Lopan.

Russian forces occupied the village on Feb. 24, 2022, the first day of the full-scale invasion. Styuflyaev told Kyiv Post that life under occupation was marked by shortages, isolation, and fear of Russian searches.

Communications were largely cut off, while the village had no electricity for the first three months. After power was restored, residents still had no gas and had to cook outdoors over fires, he said.

Russian troops also searched homes for people suspected of supporting Ukraine or passing information to Ukrainian forces.

“One day they came, and I was sitting reading a book on the history of Ukraine,” Styuflyaev said, recalling a search of his home. He feared the soldiers would see his Ukrainian history books and detain his family.

Styuflyaev said several acquaintances who openly supported Ukraine were tortured during the occupation. After Ukrainian forces liberated Kozacha Lopan on Sept. 11, 2022, a suspected Russian torture site was discovered in the village.

The occupation was also marked by regular shelling. Styuflyaev said his family spent hours in their basement almost every morning as Russian forces shelled the village and damaged civilian homes.

After the liberation, Styuflyaev and his parents moved to Kharkiv to live with his sister.

Kozacha Lopan remains vulnerable to Russian attacks because of its proximity to the border.

Styuflyaev’s experience of Russian occupation has also shaped his opposition to calls for Ukraine to surrender territory to Moscow. Having lived under Russian control in both the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, he said giving Russia additional Ukrainian territory would expose more civilians to the conditions he experienced in Kozacha Lopan.