UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Jul 8 — On July 7, Russian troops attacked Ukrainian positions in the Kharkiv direction five times near Lyptsi, Starytsia, Hlyboke, and Vovchansk, 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.)

In the Kupiansk direction, there were 13 Russian attacks over the past day. Ukrainian defense forces repelled all Russian army assaults near Synkivka, Stepova Novoselivka, Pishchane, and Stelmakhivka.

The Russians also hit Lyptsi, Vovchanski Khutory, Bilyi Kolodiaz, and Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region with air strikes. 

The commander of the operational battalion of the 13th National Guard Brigade “Khartia” said in an interview with Gwara Media that the Ukrainian military had stopped the Russian army’s movement towards Kharkiv, so the 13th Brigade of the National Guard “Khartia” and other combat units are creating conditions to push the Russians back.

Read more

  • In the Lyptsi direction, like in almost all areas of the front, Russian troops create small infantry groups of four to six people and advance mostly in bad weather. The military notes that the Russians learned this from the Ukrainian army.