ISW: Russian troops “marginally” advance northeast of Kharkiv

UKRAINE, KHARKIV REGION, Jul 23 — Russian forces advance near Vovchansk in Kharkiv oblast, reports the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank, based on the geolocation footage in their assessment of the situation on the battlefield published on July 22. 

Ukraine stopped a new ground Russian offensive north of the Kharkiv region, which was launched in May. According to the Ukrainian military, they are now regrouping to continue assaults on Vovchansk and Hlyboke. 

ISW reports that, in the Kharkiv direction, “geolocated footage published on July 22 indicates that Russian forces recently marginally advanced within Vovchansk.” The advancement happened amidst continuous fighting north and northeast of Kharkiv.  

Vovchansk (three miles from the border, 46 miles away from Kharkiv) is the first major city in the way of a Russian offensive from the north. Russia has almost completely destroyed it within a week after May 10. Now, Vovchansk is fiercely contested between Kyiv and Moscow’s forces.

“Kharkiv” group of forces operating in this section of the frontline reported that Russia rotates its military units in sections of Vovchansk and Hlyboke. Vitalii Sarantsev, a spokesman for “Kharkiv,” noted that regrouping doesn’t mean preparation for a new major assault: “it’s not about building-up forces, it’s just a rotation.” 

In Kupiansk direction, the ISW reported that Russians occupied Pishchane in July 20 referring to the geolocated footage. DeepState, a crowd-sourced war monitoring resource, also reported about the occupation of Pishchane on July 24. Gwara Media’s sources in military intelligence report only about the Moscow troops advancing within major parts of Pischane, not full occupation. Ukrainian officials and military made no comments on the status of the village at the time of publishing this article. 

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• Military: Some Ukrainian battalions north of Kharkiv were 50% equipped when Russia started its new offensive there