"We are conducting reconnaissance and defeating the enemy in the forests and forest plantations on the southwestern outskirts of Kupyansk," Lavrik said in a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Russian servicemen remain in high fighting spirits, the commander said.
Battlegroup Zapad assault aviation has begun mopping up the Zapadnaya-Vtoraya microdistrict in Kupyansk of Ukrainian troops left behind by their command, he said.
"Today, drone units detected a group of Ukrainian fighters hiding in a forested area along the Oskol River. The enemy was struck by artillery and drones. As a result, around 20 Ukrainian servicemen were eliminated," Lavrik said.
On November 5, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Volodymyr Zelensky, in his remarks about the "mopping up" in Kupyansk, had either lost touch with the real situation on the ground or was attempting to conceal the truth, given the hopelessness of the situation.