UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, June 28 — In the Kharkiv direction, the Russian army tried to attack three times near Vovchansk, Lyptsi, and Sotnytskyi Kozachok but failed, reported the General Staff.

Russia started their new offensive north and northeast in the Kharkiv region in May, but Ukrainian troops have stabilized the frontline in this section since. Now, heavy battles are ongoing in and around Vovchansk (three miles from the border, 46 miles away from Kharkiv) and near Lyptsi (six miles from the border, 12 miles from Kharkiv.)

The General Staff reported ten clashes in the Kupiansk direction. Russian troops attacked near Stepova Novoselivka, northeast of Petropavlivka, Pishchane, Stelmakhivka, and Andriyivka. According to the report, the Ukrainian forces repelled all the attacks. 

The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that the Ukrainian defense forces have partially taken back positions in Vovchansk and the village of Starytsia.

ISW reported that Ukrainian forces have counterattacked and recently taken back some tactical positions northeast of Kharkiv. In Starytsia, the Armed Forces are holding their positions in the center of the village.

Andrii Demchenko, the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service, said on Ukrainian TV on June 27 that at night, Ukrainian border guards detected and repelled a Russian sabotage group on the border of the Kharkiv region near the village of Sotnytskyi Kozachok, Zolochiv community.

Demchenko added that in the Kharkiv direction, Russians are trying to gain a foothold near Lyptsi and Vovchansk by building fortifications. Defense forces are striking at the Russian defenses and equipment.

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