UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, June 25 — The Ukrainian defense forces have partially taken back positions in the city of Vovchansk and the village of Starytsia, reported the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in the daily analytical report.

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 Lyptsi (six miles from the border, 12 miles from Kharkiv.)

Ukrainian forces have counterattacked and recently taken back some tactical positions northeast of Kharkiv, ISW reported. 

Kharkiv battle map as of June 23 / Photo: ISW

According to the report, geolocation footage indicates that Ukrainian forces “have engaged  in small arms fire” with the Russian military in northeastern Vovchansk, indicating that the Ukrainian troops have taken back positions along Khliboroba Street.

In Starytsia, report says, the Defense Forces are holding their positions in the center of the village.

In the Kupiansk direction on June 24, Russian troops continued ground attacks on the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline. They tried to advance northeast of Kupiansk, near Synkivka, and southeast of Kupiansk, near Pishchane and Stelmakhivka.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that in the Kupiansk direction, Russian troops are conducting offensives, trying to break through the defense of the Ukrainian army and capture essential areas or settlements that impact the strength of the Ukrainian defense.

Read more

  • Ukrainian forces continue to destroy Russian equipment in the Kharkiv region, forcing Russians to attack on foot, Yurii Povkh, the spokesman of Ukraine’s “Kharkiv” group of forces, said on Ukrainian TV on June 24.